SUNDAY, JANUARY 8
The Observer reports that a PE teacher, whom it did not name, had begun a job at The Hewett School in Norwich after being cleared by Ruth Kelly although he was on the sex offenders register for accessing websites containing child pornography.
The DfES had not consulted police before telling Norfolk County Council that the Education Secretary had “decided the risks of the teacher being allowed to continue teaching were acceptable”. He was suspended and later resigned
MONDAY 9
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The man is identified as Paul Reeve. The DfES refuses to comment but officials hint that a junior minister has responsibility for such cases. Stephen Twigg, then the School Standards Minister, comes under suspicion
TUESDAY 10
Mr Twigg denies any role in the case. The DfES refuses to say who handled it or how many other sex offenders had not been placed on List 99, barring them from schools
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WEDNESDAY 11
Ms Kelly says that “a small number” of sex offenders had been cleared to work in schools and announces an “urgent review” of all cases since 1997. Downing Street says that she retains Tony Blair’s full confidence
THURSDAY 12
Ms Kelly tells the Commons that legislation to tighten vetting of offenders — recommended by the Bichard inquiry 18 months ago — would be introduced mext month.
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Kim Howells, the former Education Minister now at the Foreign Office, admits responsibility for the Reeve case, having followed the advice of officials
FRIDAY 13
Police challenge claims in the DfES’s letter to Reeve, which states that he had not meant to access child pornography. Officers say Reeve had admitted using his credit card to access the US website investigated under Operation Ore
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SATURDAY 14
The Times discloses that people placed on List 99 for paedophile offences had been given official permission to work in schools, despite assurances from Ms Kelly that the blacklist was an “absolute bar”
SUNDAY 15
It emerges that Ms Kelly had sanctioned another sex offender, William Gibson, to work as a teacher despite a conviction for indecent assault on a 15-year-old girl pupil
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MONDAY 16
Ms Kelly promises a statement on Thursday