Gillian Keegan: Education secretary apologises for swearing on camera in rant on school concrete crisis

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has apologised for her “choice language” after she was caught complaining about not being thanked for doing a “f***ing good job” over the unsafe concrete crisis.

After an interview with ITV News in Westminster, the cabinet minister criticised others for being “sat on their arses” and claimed the government had gone “over and above” in addressing concerns relating to reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC).

While her mic was still on she said: “Does anyone ever say ‘You know you’ve done a f***ing good job because everyone else has sat on their arses and done nothing.

“No signs of that, no?”

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A Number 10 source said her comments were “wrong” but the prime minister “has full confidence in his education secretary”.

Ms Keegan later apologised and admitted she was “frustrated with the interviewer” who was “making out it was all my fault”.

More than a hundred schools in England were told they could not fully open just days before the start of the autumn term because of safety fears over the use of RAAC.

Pupils face being taught in temporary classrooms, on different sites or even forced into pandemic-style remote lessons.

Critics have accused the Tories of a “shambolic” handling of the situation, saying issues with the collapse-risk material have been known about for years.

Asked repeatedly who she meant had been “sat on their arses”, Ms Keegan insisted it was “nobody in particular”.

She said: “It was an off-the-cuff remark, after the news interview had finished. I’d like to apologise for my choice language, that was unnecessary.”

Pressed on who she was frustrated with, Ms Keegan said: “Actually, it was the interviewer, because the interviewer was making out it was all my fault and that’s what I was saying, do you ever go into these interviews where anyone ever says anything but you’ve just done a terrible job?”

She said it is “frustrating” because she and her team have been working hard to deal with the issue of unsafe concrete, and she hasn’t slept due to “worrying about this”.

‘Staggering arrogance’

But Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said it was a “farce” to see a Tory minister “blame anyone but themselves”.

Asked if she should remain in her post, he said that was a decision for the prime minister to make.

He added: “Rishi Sunak needs to act, but will he have the strength to act? I doubt it.”

Meanwhile Stephen Morgan MP, Labour’s shadow schools minister, said Ms Keegan’s comments were a “staggering admission that Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives have done nothing to address a problem that they have known about for years”.

“The education secretary has displayed staggering arrogance for saying she deserves a pat on the back for the chaos that is gripping our schools on their watch,” he said.

Ms Keegan is due to be interviewed on the Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge on Sky News tonight at 7:30pm.

Questions remain over the extent of the RAAC crisis, the timing of the government’s announcement and how the repairs will be funded.

Earlier, Mr Sunak acknowledged hundreds more schools in England could be impacted as he faced accusations he failed to fund a programme to replace ageing classrooms while chancellor.

The prime minister said that 95% of England’s schools were unaffected, leaving open the possibility that more than a thousand could be.

RAAC is essentially a lighter-weight form of concrete, used to build roofs, schools, colleges and other buildings from the 1950s until the mid-1990s.

Read more:
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RAAC: The once wonder material causing a chaotic start to the academic year

Experts have long-warned the material has now reached the end of its shelf life and is liable to collapse.

Earlier Jonathan Slater, who was secretary at the Department for Education (DfE) from May 2016 to August 2020, claimed the Treasury had failed to fully fund school rebuilding schemes – including during Mr Sunak’s time at the helm.

He said up to 400 schools a year need to be replaced, but the DfE only got funding for 100, despite the government knowing there was a “critical risk to life”.

Mr Sunak dismissed that criticism as “completely and utterly wrong”.

But Labour insisted he “bears huge culpability for his role in this debacle” – saying funding for rebuilding schools has been slashed over the years.

Analysis published by the party found that spending on school rebuilding between 2019 and 2020 was at £765m, but this fell to £560m the following year.