MP Gavin Barwell’s response to my letter has let the cat, or rather the fat cat, out the bag. 

I think he is misguided if he thinks readers find it acceptable that a director of the Harris Foundation, which runs three schools in Croydon, pays themselves £243,000 a year of public money, at a time when supplementary schools, aiding struggling pupils, face funding cuts.

He forgets that when the vast majority of schools in Croydon become academies, the intake of schools run by Harris will not be as academically gifted. This is because other academies will attempt to poach bright kids through covert selection, just like Harris is able to do. In that instance, if Harris Schools end up in failing, neither the council nor the government can do a thing about how much Harris bosses get paid.

Alternatively, Mr Barwell’s defence of fat cat pay levels could be due to the fact that Lord Harris, the founder of Harris schools, is an influential donor, to the tune of £2million, to the Tory party.

Yours sincerely

Shasha Khan
Croydon Green Party