The school buildings crisis threatened to engulf Downing Street yesterday, with Rishi Sunak accused of slashing the budget for repairs while his education secretary was caught on camera claiming colleagues had done nothing to stop it.
As pupils began returning to schools around England – or in some cases taking lessons from home or in temporary classrooms – the prime minister faced claims he had failed to grasp the gravity of the situation as chancellor.
Former Department for Education (DfE) officials said staff in the department were shocked when a request to fund work on 300 schools at risk from crumbling concrete panels was pared down, to 100 and then 50, by Sunak’s Treasury in 2020 and 2021.
As No 10 pushed back against the claims, Gillian Keegan, the education secretary, was forced to apologise after she was caught complain ing to a TV reporter that others with responsibility for school repairs had “sat on their arse” rather than act.
The unguarded comments were made when the cameras continued made when the cameras continued rolling after a formal interview was over , with Keegan asking grumpily: "Does anyone ever say: 'You know what, you've done a fucking good job, because everyone else has sat on their arse and done nothing.' No signs of that, no?" She later apologised for her "off-the-cuff remark" and "unnecessary choice of language" after receiving a dressing-down from Downing Street for behaviour that was "not acceptable".
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