[3] Davies was knighted in 2000, and Dr Richard Evans, a deputy head at the school, received an MBE for services to education in 2003.

[10] The suspensions came after a former Copland teacher and union representative claimed that almost £1m had been paid in bonuses to the senior management team at the school over the preceding seven years.

Children's Secretary Ed Balls spoke of his "grave concerns" about the allegations and said he was pleased that officials had acted "swiftly and decisively".

Balls sacked the entire governing body of the school, including its chairman, Dr Indravadan Patel, who had publicly supported some of the bonuses.

In October 2013 Davies received a suspended jail sentence at Southwark Crown Court when he pleaded guilty to creating a false paper trail on bonus payment and allowances; prosecutors dropped additional charges of conspiracy to defraud.