Education Secretary Estelle Morris has rejected calls for her resignation following the publication of a report into A-level grade-fixing allegations.

It wasn't me. It wasn't my ministers, it wasn't my department

Estelle Morris

Conservative education spokesman Damian Green said the Tomlinson report into A-level standards "acquitted ministers of malice but convicted them of incompetence".

He said Ms Morris should resign as the responsibility for the "unprecedented shambles" affecting the A-level system ultimately lay with her department.

And he accused the education secretary of seeking a scapegoat by firing Sir William Stubbs, chairman of exams watchdog the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), even though he was exonerated by the report.

Criticisms accepted

In his report, Mike Tomlinson - the former chief inspector of England's schools - says some A-level papers should be re-marked in about 12 subjects.

This is not just a political row, it is people whose start in life is being affected

Damian Green, shadow education secretary

But he rejects allegations exam boards were forced to mark down papers after political pressure.

He said the sheer complexity of the new, two-stage A-level system, meant that there had been "an accident waiting to happen".

Ms Morris accepted Mr Tomlinson's criticisms and said lessons needed to be learned for the future.

Blame rejected

But she insisted the blame did not lie with her department.

She told BBC News 24: "It wasn't me. It wasn't my ministers, it wasn't my department.

"Neither I, my ministers, or my department put pressure - or create the impression of pressure - on any of the examining bodies that they had to act in a certain way".

She added: "I accepted 10 days ago that although it wasn't my fault, it was not of my making, it was my responsibility to see us through this and try to solve the problem."

'New leadership needed'

And she promised students and teachers that by Tuesday of next week it would be "much clearer" how many exam papers would have to be re-marked.

Mike Tomlinson: Independent inquiry

And she justified her sacking Sir William Stubbs by saying there had been a loss of confidence in the QCA and that new leadership was "the best way forward" for the organisation.

The Tomlinson report clears Sir William of any direct blame - but said he left exam board heads with the perception they should cut grades to maintain standards.

New exams call

The Tories' Damian Green told News 24: "This is not just a political row, it is people whose start in life is being affected."

She needs to sort this mess out pretty quickly or her job could still be on the line

Carole Walker, BBC Political Correspondent

He called for the QCA to be made properly independent of government.

And he repeated his call for AS levels to be scrapped.

He added: "We need exams that test pupils rigorously but aren't ludicrously complicated to mark."

'Whitewash'

Liberal Democrat education spokesman Phil Willis branded the Tomlinson report a "whitewash".

He said Ms Morris should at the very least apologise to students for the A-level fiasco.

BBC Political Correspondent Carole Walker said Ms Morris needed to "sort this mess out pretty quickly or her job could still be on the line".

She said the education secretary's political reputation had been damaged despite the fact that she was cleared of direct blame in the Tomlinson report.

In his report, Mr Tomlinson said the complexity of the A-level system resulted in disagreement, misunderstanding and mistaken perceptions.

The chief executives of the three English boards Oxford, Cambridge and RSA (OCR), the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA) and Edexcel, acted within their powers under the code of practice governing the way they run the exams.

But the code did not have sufficient detail when it came to the setting of grade boundaries.