The man at the centre of a row about the employment of sex offenders in schools said today that he was interviewed by officials from the Department for Education for two and a half hours before being told he could return to teaching.
William Gibson, a 59-year-old maths teacher, was suspended from work at Portchester School in Bournemouth at the weekend after governors discovered that he had a conviction for indecently assaulting a girl in 1980.
Mr Gibson was cleared to work as a supply teacher last January by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES).
His case has called into question the rigour and the clarity of the DfES process for barring teachers convicted of sexual offences. Ruth Kelly, the Education Secretary, is currently leading an exhaustive review of all the cases in which sex offenders have been cleared by ministers to teach in schools over the last three decades.
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Ms Kelly will make a statement on the furore to the House of Commons on Thursday in which she is expected to announce a new central vetting unit, which will consolidate the various lists that currently bar people from working with children and vulnerable adults.
This morning, Gordon Brown hinted that Ms Kelly would announce reforms that would take such cases out of the hands of ministers. “Perhaps it’s right that these decisions should not be taken by politicians but by people who know more about these things on the ground,” he told GMTV.
The DfES faced more pressure today after The Guardian reported that an internal document noted seven major flaws in the department’s vetting system before Christmas.
According to the newspaper, the document complained of inconsistencies between the various barring lists that cover social workers and those working with children. The DfES declined to respond to the allegation, saying the story was unsourced.
Mr Gibson said today that he was interviewed by a panel of four officials, including a medical expert, as he sought a return to teaching after spending more than 20 years outside the profession.
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“I was in the interview for two and a half hours and they made a thorough, long, in-depth and searching interview,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“Some two months later, I received confirmation that I was cleared to teach with the caveat that if I were to transgress ever again, there was every likelihood I would be struck off.”
Mr Gibson spoke about his case for the first time yesterday. In an interview with the Bournemouth Echo he said that he had married the 15-year-old girl he had been found guilty of assaulting and denied being a paedophile. “It was a genuine relationship and nothing happened against her will,” he said.
Mr Gibson’s description of his past, and his brief return to teaching, clashes with the account given in the letter which approved his return to work.
Although Mr Gibson had only managed to work for just over three months as a supply teacher in the northeast before his past was discovered, the letter from the DfES said: “You have undertaken teaching work in recent years to good effect.”
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Interviewed this morning, Mr Gibson attempted to draw a line between his case and those who were prone to committing “nasty sexual activity”.
“I think that if a teacher has had a relationship with a child, whether a boy or a girl and whether that relationship was long-term or short-term, if they have done anything against the wishes or anything to physically or mentally harm the person concerned, then I feel that that particular person should not be allowed to teach,” he said.
He said that his relationship, on the other hand, was voluntary and consensual. “I did nothing against the girl’s wishes,” said Mr Gibson. “She was happy with everything that happened. And indeed, when the case came to court the prosecution read out a statement to say that she was happy with what happened.”
“She was 15, but a very, very mature 15,” he said. “Very confident, had travelled the world and was very eloquent.”
“My relationship was not based on a physical contact at first. There were long talks and chats about things. She helped me get back on my feet after my marriage broke up. I did try to stop it, but I felt as though this was the only person who cared about me at the time,” he said.
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“Looking back, in reality, I shouldn’t have proceeded, but I just needed to cope and have the support and understanding and encouragement,” he said. “I can’t ever see myself transgressing again.”