MINISTERIAL BOTCH

EDUCATION Secretary Justine Greening left important Government documents lying in the street yesterday as she dodged questions about teachers’ pay.

Greening, who had been heading out to attend a Cabinet meeting, fled back into her London home when confronted by reporters, leaving her ministerial red box on the doorstep.

She refused to answer questions put to her by the reporters from our sister paper, the Mirror, insisting she needed to return indoors to “make a phone call”.

Greening did not return for some five minutes as members of the public unknowingly wandered past the chunky red briefcase labelled: “Secretary of State – Department for Education.”

Red boxes have, for more than 150 years, held sensitive documents belonging to ministers.

Greening has come under fire after announcing that teachers south of the Border will receive only a one per cent pay rise again this year.

In a statement last night, her department insisted no secret documents were put at risk by her hapless behaviour.

A Department for Education source said: “Although the box was briefly unattended while the Education Secretary went back into her house, it remained firmly locked and was on and in full view of her property, and contained no sensitive documents.”

IN A FLAP Greening flees back into her home. Left, finally on her way to Cabinet RED ALERT A woman walks by Greening’s home, where the case sat unattended. Picture: Tim Anderson