THE Government has ignored warnings from North-East education officials about teachers thought to pose a risk to pupils, The Northern Echo can reveal.

Over the past 15 years, education officials have urged the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) to bar suspect staff from working in schools - and had their pleas turned down.

The admission came after it was revealed that a teacher in Darlington continued to work with children despite being investigated for sex offences.

Paul McCann, 39, taught at Eastbourne Comprehensive School for almost a year, before he was arrested by police investigating sex offences dating back to 1991.

Criminal record bureau checks were carried out on McCann before he was offered the job, but police investigations were still under way - so nothing showed up.

He was jailed for three years last June, at Southampton Crown Court, after admitting 13 charges of indecent assault and one of indecency with a child.

The court heard McCann had abused children for more than 12 years, between 1991 and 2003, while he taught in schools in southern England. There have been no complaints from his time at Eastbourne.

The latest revelations are bound to heap more pressure on Education Secretary Ruth Kelly, who is due to give a statement to the Commons on Thursday.

Durham County Council said it had recommended that a number of teachers be placed on List 99 - the Government's list of teachers barred from working in schools.

But in a handful of cases, the Government overruled the council and the teachers have been permitted to continue working.

Last night, a council spokesman said: "If we reject teachers following criminal record bureau (CRB) checks, we are obliged to inform the Department for Education and Skills, and we can recommend that they are put on List 99.

"Not everybody who fails their CRB checks is automatically recommended for List 99, but there are some that we do recommend.

"The DfES does not always agree."

The council said that, since 1996, 13 teachers had failed CRB checks.

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council said it has turned one teacher down after failing a CRB check and recommended that one teacher was put on List 99.

Meanwhile, the Darlington headteacher who oversaw the appointment of PE teacher McCann has called for a change in the law - wanting those under investigation to be put on List 99.

Eamonn Farrar said: "Hiring someone who is under investigation could potentially be just as dangerous as hiring someone who has convictions."

A teacher at the centre of another sex-offender row defended himself yesterday.

William Gibson, 59, who was convicted of indecently assaulting a 15-year-old girl in 1980, went on to work in a County Durham school and two in South Tyneside as a supply teacher, before working for a school in Bournemouth. His details were not entered on List 99.

He said: "I am not a paedophile. I am not a risk to children. I know what I did was wrong back in 1980 and I regret my actions, but it's not as black and white as everyone thinks."

At the time of the offence, he was a teacher in a Sunderland school and the girl was a pupil there.

They married soon afterwards and later had three children. The marriage lasted 19 years.

A spokesman for the DfES said: "The fact that an individual is not included on List 99 does not mean that they have been approved as suitable for any particular position.

"That decision rests with the employer, taking account of the full range of information available such as CRB checks, previous employment, references and general Teaching Council registration."