Justine Greening called in David Hoare to ask him to resign from his position as the chair of Ofsted, TES understands.

The education secretary had just returned from holiday and wanted to speak to Mr Hoare in person to let him know that she did not think he could carry on in his role at the inspectorate.

A source close to Ms Greening said: “The secretary of state requested his resignation. She believed that it was in the best interests of Ofsted and that it would help maintain the confidence of the education and care sectors.”

Mr Hoare was forced to step down today after he described the Isle of Wight, one of the country’s most educationally underperforming regions, as a “ghetto” that suffered from “inbreeding”.

The comments revealed by TES earlier this month sparked outrage and led to the Isle of Wight council leader Jonathan Bacon to demand the City businessman visit the island and offer an apology.

It is also understood that senior figures at Ofsted were upset by Mr Hoare’s comments that he did not want a teacher to take over from Sir Michael Wilshaw as the next chief inspector.

It looked as though Mr Hoare, who made his name as a corporate troubleshooter in the City, might hang on after he offered an apology  “for any upset or offence” that he caused.

But Ms Greening moved quickly having just returned from holiday this week and demanded that Mr Hoare step down. 

The education secretary said: “I have accepted David Hoare’s resignation from the post of Chair of the Board of Ofsted. I would like to thank David for his hard work in this role over the past two years.”

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