Commenting on the news that ministers were told the new grammar school in Seven Oaks may be illegal Lucy Powell MP said:

“The decision by Ministers on this new grammar school looks like a clear attempt to subvert the law. Nicky Morgan must now publish the advice Ministers received so we can see the basis on which she made the decision to open the floodgates on the expansion of selective education in this country.

"Grammar schools are not bastions of social mobility and it is becoming clear that many many more areas are considering opening grammar schools as a result of this decision. Rather than focusing on an excellent education for all children the Tories are fixated on bringing back selection at eleven, a wrong and backward step.”