The sacked chairman of the exams watchdog has accused education department officials of briefing the press against him and of threatening to "cut off" journalists if they did not report stories in a favourable way.

Either these people were acting as free agents in which case they are loose cannons ... or they were acting under instructions

Sir William Stubbs

Sir William Stubbs accused a special adviser to the former education secretary, Chris Boffey, and the department's head of news, DJ Collins, of having told journalists the QCA was "dead in the water" over the A-level fiasco and he would be out of a job.

This had continued even after he had asked the then education secretary, Estelle Morris, to stop it - and before the independent inquiry under Mike Tomlinson had presented its report, Sir William said.

He also accused ministers of "a panic reaction" that created a crisis of confidence over this summer's A-levels - for which there was no evidence.

News management

"They lost their nerve in the light of a storm of hostile press criticism," Sir William Stubbs told MPs on the education select committee, who are investigating the watchdog, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA).

These are wholly unsubstantiated remarks with no evidence to support them

Department for Education

"I think those responsible for national affairs should keep their mind on the facts and behave calmly and steer the ship home, but they didn't do that," he said.

Sir William said he had had previous experience of the department "managing the news".

"I knew Collins would give stories to reporters and then say, you know, 'if you don't report them' - or imply that 'if you don't report them in a way that's friendly, you will be cut off and get no stories'.

"I have been told that by reporters," he said.

"This is what's called these days 'managing the news'."

'Loose cannons'?

Asked by the committee whether this complied with the code of practice governing civil servants, Sir William said: "I would sincerely hope that it's not."

He added: "If there's an independent inquiry is under way and they are saying, 'this is the outcome by the way and this is what's going to happen', I would have to say that's highly improper and wrong.

"Either these people were acting as free agents in which case they are loose cannons - and this is a big department of state - or they were acting under instructions.

"Either way that was a flawed system and it shouldn't happen."

The Department for Education press office said of Sir William's complaints: "These are wholly unsubstantiated remarks with no evidence to support them."

Chris Boffey was Estelle Morris's special adviser and left the department when she resigned.

Barry Sheerman said later he was "minded" to call Mr Collins and Mr Boffey to give evidence to his committee.

Dismissal

At the height of the furore over A-level grades, Sir William accused Ms Morris of improperly interfering in the inquiry she had set up under the former chief inspector of schools, Mike Tomlinson.

Two days later she dismissed him, saying there had been a "breakdown of trust" between Sir William and the rest of the education system, and she needed to restore confidence in the QCA.

The committee was aware that Sir William had said last week that he would take legal action against the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) for unfair dismissal and defamation unless he received a public apology and compensation.

His broadside was triggered when he was asked by a member of the committee why he thought he had been dismissed.

'Interference'

He said he had been "shocked" when he had learned that Estelle Morris had instructed her officials to contact the exam boards to discuss the possibility of a wholesale regarding of the summer's A-levels - before Mike Tomlinson had produced his report.

He regarded this as improper interference in the inquiry.

Ms Morris said at the time that it was simply wise contingency planning.

"I had no confidence by that time in the DfES, in light of the continuing press briefing," Sir William said.

TV interview

He considered contacting the cabinet secretary - as head of the Civil Service - but Sir Richard Wilson had just retired and he was not sure a successor was in post.

He felt it was his duty as the exam regulator to make the matter public.

He had been due to be interviewed anyway - by BBC education correspondent Mike Baker - about the evidence he had given to Tomlinson, and chose to use that interview to make his concerns public.

The chairman of the committee, Barry Sheerman, asked whether he had regarded it as "a High Noon situation".

Department 'aware of comments'

Sir William said he considered it was "grave".

But he said he was in no doubt that he should stay on as chairman.