Boris Johnson 'sorry for any distress' caused by exam results confusion, Downing Street says

The Prime Minister is “sorry for any distress” caused by his government’s handling of exam results this year, Downing Street has said.

Boris Johnson initially defended the A-level results produced by a controversial algorithm, saying “they’re robust, they’re good, they're dependable for employers”.

But he defied calls to return from his summer holiday amid growing uproar over the outcomes, which ended in a government U-turn after nearly 40 per cent of students having their predicted results downgraded, with state school pupils suffering more than the private sector.

Education secretary Gavin Williamson was forced to apologise as he overturned the system and allowed A-level and GCSE pupils to be awarded their assessed grades where they were higher than those produced by Ofqual’s computers.

And he dodged a question over whether he offered to resign over the fiasco, telling ITV News: "My focus is making sure that we put right the problems and my focus now is ensuring that all children are welcomed back in their school classrooms next week and the week after and I will be looking forward to doing so."

Asked today if Mr Johnson regretted the Government’s handling of exam results this year, a Number 10 spokesman said: “The PM is of course sorry for any distress that has been caused.

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