Eton head 'disturbed' by Harry tape

The Eton headmaster who sacked a teacher who claims Prince Harry cheated at his art A-level said today he had been extremely disturbed to find she had secretly taped a conversation with the student.

Tony Little told an employment tribunal it was an "extraordinary" thing to do that would normally have led to a teacher being sacked for gross misconduct.

By the time he discovered Sarah Forsyth had made the tape, however, he had already dismissed her because she was not good enough to teach at the £23,000-a-year college.

Miss Forsyth, 30, claims she was unfairly dismissed after being subjected to a campaign of bullying and intimidation by the school's head of art, Ian Burke.

Mr Little decided to sack her in June 2003 after she had completed a two-year probationary contract at the school, which had been subsequently extended for 12 months.

Today, he defended his employment regime, claiming it was fair. He said he had no doubts Miss Forsyth had been treated fairly.

"She had a fair crack and a good chance of demonstrating whether she was up to teaching standards," he said.

Miss Forsyth had no teaching qualifications when she was hired as an art teacher. Mr Little said a Post Graduate Certificate in Education was not a requirement at Eton.

It was only after Mr Little had written to Miss Forsyth informing her of her dismissal that she first made her claim she had helped Harry cheat by writing his coursework, on what she claimed where Mr Burke's orders.

A few days after he decided to dismiss her, Miss Forsyth's union representative told him she had secretly taped the conversation with Harry.

The Reading tribunal continues.