THE CHILDREN’S author who famed for his Horrible Histories has admitted deliberately littering his books with subversive messages for his young readers, as he condemns school a “waste of time”.

Mr Deary, who has sold about 25 million copies of his books since they were first published in 1993, said he placed radical ideas in his stories in the the same way “sneaky propagandists” do.

The titles of his books include the Terrible Tudors, Rotten Romans and Vile Victorians, as well as the Groovy Greeks, Vicious Vikings and Awesome Egyptians.

Describing himself an “anarchist”, he has described his delight in sprinkling his books with radical ideas, with a profound dislike for authority stemming from his own schooldays.

Speaking to a national newspaper, he said: “The teachers put my back up.

“They kick conformity into children. Teachers are just bullies and schools are a waste of time.

“They’re an ancient Greek idea that the Victorians borrowed to get kids off the street. It’s fundamentally wrong.”

He dismissed the Government as “just a bunch of muppets in Whitehall telling teachers what to teach” and argued children should instead be offered mentors tailored to their specific needs.

Mr Deary said: “Every child has an entitlement to be education for their needs.

“The key is to identify talents. Schools can’t do that in classes of 30. Mentors could.

“If you’re a writer then someone attaches you to a write. Art to an artist. Mechanics to a mechanic. What is your skill? Everybody has a skill.”