Nick Gibb, Conservative Schools Minister, Heckled By Teachers

'Rubbish'

Schools minister Nick Gibb was heckled by teachers on Monday as he defended the government's academy school programme. 

Gibb was greeted with shouts of "rubbish" as he addressed the Association Of Teachers & Lecturers (ATL) conference in Liverpool.

The government has announced plans to turn all secondary schools in England into academies.

Defending the move, Gibb told the conference: "I'm spending time talking to colleagues who have expressed a concern.

"But the whole academies programme is about having a profession-led system, so that the profession is in charge and not local authority officials. That's the system we're moving to."

The Bognor Regis and Littlehampton MP's comments were greeting by grumblings, laughter and heckles from the crowd.

The moderator was forced to intervene. "Can I just ask the audience to be polite?" he said.