England's exams chief resigns over Gove's plans

The head of England's exams regulator has resigned. Kathleen Tattersall, chairwoman of Ofqual, said she was stepping down "with immediate effect".

In a letter to the Education Secretary, Michael Gove, Ms Tattersall said it was "clear that the Government is bringing a fresh perspective to public policy, in education as in other areas".

With this in mind, she wrote, she had concluded it was "in the best interests both of Government and of the education sector for Ofqual to have a new chair".

Accepting her resignation, Mr Gove said she had made a "significant contribution" to establishing Ofqual as an independent regulator. He has said he wants the body to be set up in a similar way to Ofsted, the schools inspectorate.

He wrote: "I have signalled to you my wish to strengthen the position and independence of Ofqual further through making the chief regulator a full-time Crown appointment with executive responsibility for Ofqual. I intend to bring forward legislation to this effect in the autumn."