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Harrow LBC found itself on the receiving end of a hostile media storm last week for its failed attempt to prosecute local parent Mrinal Patel over an application for a school place. Harrow leader David Ashton gives his side of the story. As leader of a council I am used to getting robust emails and letters from residents. But judging from the acerbic tone of some that arrived last Friday, it was abundantly clear our council had provoked an intense media storm with equally intense passions. The issue was our decision to withdraw legal proceedings against Mrinal Patel, a Harrow mother, over the allegation that she supplied misleading details on a school application form. As the news broke, I found myself rapidly on my way to the BBC's Television Centre for the first of a round of media interviews. I didn't expect an easy ride; after all we were dealing with the emotive subject of a parent who only wanted the best for their child. My task was to explain that the council dropped its case after counsel's advice suggested legal argument over the definition of gain and loss under the Fraud Act might be problematic for the case in court. At 8.10am I found myself opposite John Humphreys, the arch inquisitor of Radio 4's Today programme. While Humphreys is famed for his ability to eviscerate politicians, I was pleasantly surprised to be able to put our case in a calm and reasoned way. Media interest in the story rocketed. We were splashed across the front of the Evening Standard; I was subject to an attempted flaying by Radio 2's Jeremy Vine; two television news crews pulled up outside the steps of Harrow civic centre within minutes of each other. Across the web's message forums, the debate raged. Some likened Harrow LBC to a dictatorship zealously persecuting its own citizens; others declared that using underhand means to secure a school place was nothing more than cheating, and we were absolutely right in our action. Our decisions to launch and then withdraw this legal action were always going to be newsworthy. After all, in London and probably most major cities, house prices and school places are the staple of dinner table conversation. I must stress that we did not set out to be legal trailblazers over this issue. But in the aftermath of one individual's case, what has become patently clear is that the law over the school places system needs reforming. Journalists covering the story quite properly asked me: if the Fraud Act 2006 won't stand up in court, what area of law will you use then? The answer is: nobody quite knows. Various pieces of possible legislation float in and out of focus. Could councils use the Misrepresentation Act? Perhaps the Perjury Act, despite the shadow of its more draconian penalties? Or should the Government reframe the Fraud Act to tackle this notion of gain and loss? Like many local authorities across the UK, we face a situation where parents employ ever increasing ingenuity to get children into their preferred school. In London, the use of dummy addresses and involved property deals that secure the required residency have been elevated to a near art form. The education secretary, Ed Balls, now wants clear answers as to how big this problem is and has asked the schools adjudicator to report back on whether councils have the powers they need to tackle cheats. I am very pleased he recognises the problem, and is taking this action. The counter charge is put, of course, that parents are in reality left with no choice if their choice is between bending the rules or sending their child to a school languishing in the relegation zone of an Ofsted table (In Harrow we luckily don't have a problem on this scale - the vast majority of our schools are either rated ‘outstanding' or ‘good'). Frankly, it is a difficult question to answer. But the council's job is not to set national education policy; it is to run local schools as well as we can with the grant provided by Government, and to ensure the admissions system is fair. The Harrow case has not come up with a clear answer to the latter challenge, but it has at least sparked a necessary national debate. David Ashton is leader of Harrow LBC

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Facing the media storm

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