A TEACHER suspended after allegations were made by a pupil has been on full pay for nearly four years.

Although no charges were brought against Anthony McNally, governors at Woodhey High School in Ramsbottom cleared him of any misconduct, he has been out of work since 1996.

This week Bury Local Education Authority (LEA) refused to answer questions about why an innocent Mr McNally remains banned from local schools.

Strenuous efforts are being made by Mr McNally's teaching union, the National Association of Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers (NAS/UWT), to win him back his job.

"Mr McNally was subjected to all the disciplinary and legal processes and at every stage he was cleared," said a union spokesman.

"For the past four years he has been paid to sit at home. That does seem to be something of a waste of the taxpayers' money."

Mr McNally, who lives in Tottington, was suspended in 1995 after the parents of a 15-year-old boy at Woodhey accused him of "inappropriate touching". After an inquiry he was cleared by the school's board of governors and no action was taken by police. He was reinstated in 1996, but one month later he was again suspended after Bury's child protection committee expressed "serious concerns" about the claims.

Bury education authority is opposed to Mr McNally's return to teaching and sought to have him permanently barred from the profession by approaching the then Tory Secretary of State for Education, Gillian Shephard.

She refused to intervene and the local authority said it would seek a judicial review.

Last March Ms Shephard's successor, Labour's David Blunkett, said he would direct the school governors to reopen the case.

But that is not acceptable to the NAS/UWT who say there is no new evidence against Mr McNally and no reason to examine the case again.

A union representative said: "We feel it is unreasonable and unfair for the governors to revisit this matter. Mr McNally has been proved to be innocent of all allegations."

They plan to take High Court action against Mr Blunkett to block any new inquiry by the governors.

Mr Mark Turnbull, Mr McNally's solicitor, said that the hearing would probably take place in the spring.

The Bury Times asked Bury Council to explain the LEA's continuing decision not to reinstate Mr McNally, but they refused. A spokesman confirmed: "We are aware that an application for a judicial review was made and granted. Because of that review we are not in a position to comment further."

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