Gavin Williamson has denied forcing Ofqual’s chief regulator to quit amid the A-level and GCSE grades debacle.
Sally Collier resigned from her position at the exams watchdog, which has been heavily criticised over its handling of the process for awarding grades following the cancellation of exams.
The Education Secretary has also been under intense pressure after the U-turn which saw a controversial algorithm abandoned in favour of relying on teachers’ assessments of pupils' grades in England.
Mr Williamson insisted he had not forced Ms Collier out and said the fiasco was due to the "unprecedented" situation caused by the virus.
"No, this was a decision that Sally made, an incredibly dedicated and committed public servant, and in discussions with the Ofqual board, which, as you’re aware, is a non-ministerial Government department,” he told BBC’s Breakfast.
"That was a decision between them."
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Mr Williamson had previously defended the "robust" exams system, which saw almost 40 per cent of A-level grades reduced from teachers’ predictions.
The announcement on August 17, just days before GCSE results were due to come out, followed an earlier vow from Mr Williamson that there would be "no U-turn, no change".
The Education Secretary indicated he had not considered resigning over the U-turn.
He told Times Radio: "My focus has been working with Ofqual to make sure we get those examination results out and making sure that we have everything in place to be able to welcome young people back into school over the next few weeks.
"That’s where the focus is, that’s what I think people expect us to be doing, that’s what people will expect us to be delivering."
It comes after the Government made its latest U-turn of the pandemic – now advising that face coverings should be worn by secondary pupils and staff in some areas of England.
The Department for Education is advising the measures should be taken in areas under local lockdown, and that face coverings should be at the discretion of schools across the rest of the country.
Mr Williamson had previously insisted measures being adopted by schools to limit the spread of coronavirus meant masks were not required and a day after a Downing Street spokesman said there were no plans to review the guidance.
