Governors at Downhills school have been replaced by an interim executive board (IEB). Pic: Tony Gay.

Haringey Council’s education chief Libby Blake has been accused of “political gutlessness” for offering to sack Downhills governors ahead of the primary school’s academy conversion.

The criticism follows a letter sent by Ms Blake to the Department for Education (DfE) on February 10 in which she asks to remove governors at Downhills and replace them with an Interim Executive Board (IEB).

It was revealed in a recent Freedom of Information request made by a Downhills parent, leading to criticism of the council for not informing the school’s governors of the letter to the DfE at the time.

Haringey NUT secretary Julie Davies said: “We are just seeing one bout of political gutlessness after another. The parents and the staff are disgusted by the council’s behaviour.”

In March, the DfE removed governors at the school, in Philip Lane, South Tottenham, and replaced them with an IEB of their choosing.