BRITAIN:Communities secretary Ruth Kelly won powerful cross-party backing yesterday as she defended her decision to send one of her children to a £15,000-a-year private school for pupils with learning difficulties.
Forced to speak out after being named in newspaper and broadcast reports, Ms Kelly confirmed she had withdrawn her son from his state school after receiving professional advice that he be given specialist support in a school able to meet his particular needs as soon as possible.
"I, like any mother, want to do the right thing for my son," declared Ms Kelly, whose other three children are being educated in the state sector. "I appreciate some will disagree with my decision," she said. "I understand why, but we all face difficult choices as parents."
Ms Kelly had faced charges of "hypocrisy" for acting contrary to official Labour policy to promote the integration wherever possible of children with special needs in mainstream schools.
In her statement she said her local education authority had accepted her decision, adding that it would not cost the taxpayer anything. "It is not uncommon for pupils with learning difficulties to spend some time outside the state sector to help them progress," she said: "Sometimes this is paid for by the local authority. In my case, I have not and will not seek the help of the local authority in meeting these costs."
One Labour MP, Dr Ian Gibson, questioned this and held to his view that Ms Kelly's decision was "a slap in the face" for pupils and teachers at state schools.
However, Downing Street signalled the prime minister's backing for Ms Kelly while Conservative leader David Cameron discounted the "hypocrisy" charge and said: "We all have to make the decisions as parents first, not as politicians."
Mr Cameron, whose own son attends a state special needs school said: "Ruth Kelly is a parent first and foremost."