A COUNCIL has defended its decision to suspend an East Lancashire teacher on full pay for nine years - at a reported cost £1million to the taxpayer.

English master Anthony McNally was suspended from his post at Woodhey High School, in Ramsbottom, in March 1995 after a pupil made an unproven claim of "inappropriate touching."

The ensuing legal battle finally ended last week when an out-of-court settlement was reached between Mr McNally, 54, and Bury Council.

Under the agreement, Mr McNally resigned but his suspension is believed to be the longest a teacher has been given in Britain, costing £1million in wages and legal fees.

Mark Sanders, chief executive of the council, insisted the authority had acted within the law. He added: "The individual is innocent until proven guilty and this is respected in the legally binding compromised agreement that has been made."

The teacher, from Tottington, refused to comment. His union, the National Association of Schoolmasters and Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT), which backed his legal battle, condemned the bar on his teaching last year as "a gross waste of money."