Labour stifled debate, says former adviser

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The Government's former exams adviser has attacked New Labour's "media manipulation machine" for gagging the quango he led in an attempt to stop his stealing the limelight from ministers.

Nick Tate, now headmaster of Winchester College, described how he was taken aside by Government advisers and told to keep quiet after he publicly disagreed with New Labour policy when he was chief executive of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, which advises ministers on exams.

Officials wanted to ensure that ministers got the credit for any good publicity and did not welcome anyone else stealing their limelight, he claimed. "It was made clear that all positive headlines should be ministerial ones," said Dr Tate, who became head of Winchester College, the £17,000-a-year independent school, a year ago.

From then on the quango was in effect muzzled and tried to keep its opinions to itself, telling ministers only what they wanted to hear, he said.

The showdown came in 1998 when Dr Tate publicly disagreed with the Government's policy on primary schools.

The Department for Education and Skills said yesterday that government advisers had a duty to remain silent on policy developments.