Head slams Blair as 'public school toff'

A leading headmaster today attacked Tony Blair as a "public school toff " who manipulated the system to get his two eldest sons into a good state school.

Michael James, chairman of the Society of Headmasters and Headmistresses of Independent Schools (SHMIS), also trained his sights on Solicitor-General Harriet Harman.

Both politicians were condemned for ignoring schools near where they lived to send their children to better-performing state-schools in other parts of London.

Mr James said it was "repulsive" to hear the pair speak about educational opportunity when "they have manipulated the system". Mr James, principal of private boarding school Rydal Penrhos School in Colwyn Bay, North Wales, called on the Government to pay part of the fees to enable more working-class children to be educated in the independent sector.

In a speech to SHMIS's annual conference in Southampton, he said: "Parental choice is an illusion for those without adequate financial means."

He added: "I find it quite repulsive to listen to public school toffs like Tony Blair and Harriet Harman speaking about educational opportunity when they have manipulated the system."