Yet again, Michael Gove is dragged to the Commons to account for his shambolic handling of Building Schools for the Future. He has wasted a huge amount of public money by failing to act on official and legal advice.
The High Court’s damning verdict raises serious questions about Mr Gove's competence and judgement. The communities most affected by his botched decisions will have serious doubts about whether he is discharging his duties fairly and properly.
We urgently now need an independent inquiry into Michael Gove's handling of this whole sorry saga. All relevant paperwork should be disclosed so that people can see what advice was given by civil servants and how these decisions were taken.
We hear reports that Michael Gove overruled civil servants who warned that errors were likely and ignored legal advice - this is no way to run a Department of State.
The judge requested that the Minister reconsider the decisions "with an open mind". By his reaction, Mr Gove has shown that his mind is firmly made up.
That is why, in the interests of fairness, I am calling on the Prime Minister to remove Michael Gove from any role in the re-run of this decision.
Burnham For Mayor
