Chris Whitehouse, London:

I have no desire to be embroiled once again in Isle of Wight politics, having moved from the Island five years ago; but I cannot allow the inaccurate assertions of Joe Plumb to go uncorrected.

He rightly points out that the Conservative administration in which I briefly served had high ambitions for the Island’s children and its schools, that we were committed to driving up standards and that we had a plan for doing so before Covid hit.

But Plumb is wrong to say that: “[Teachers] as well as our young people, have been let down by poor leadership, constant disruption and disastrous decision making”.

There was no disruption or disastrous decision making during my own short period as children’s services portfolio holder.

Indeed, my greatest achievement was refusing to allow AET to close Sandown Academy, taking the fight to government ministers and mounting a media campaign that saw AET defeated in its attempt to asset strip that school.

Keeping secondary education in Sandown and getting rid of AET from the town took a detailed plan and total dedication and commitment to do whatever was necessary politically at national level.

So, backed by a team of high calibre officers, that’s just what I did.

Family events then led to me leaving the Island, but I can be justifiably proud of what I achieved for the families of Sandown, past, present and future; and for the residents of my own former and much-beloved ward of Newport West.

Plumb is right that children of the Island have been poorly served by many administrations of all political hues – but he is wrong to lump with the rest my own excellent record of service.