Governors at St John's School in Friern Barnet have slated an official report into the handling of sexual allegations against a five-year-old boy, which led to a mass parental boycott.

Calls for an independent report on events at the school in Crescent Road were rejected by Barnet Council, which instead commissioned a review headed by its own deputy chief executive, Rita Dexter.

That report criticised Barnet Council officers, the Church and the local media but singled out the school governors and acting headteacher Elena Ttofis for most blame.

Governors claim that this was unfair, particularly as they were only interviewed for one hour by the review team to get their side of the story.

In a ten-page statement, the governors highlight what they see as more than 20 factual inaccuracies within the review.

"We find it impossible to understand how judgments can be made when the key people concerned were never spoken to or invited to give their opinions or explain their actions," it says.

The governors' statement concludes: "[In May 2001] we were being criticised by everyone from every direction. We had decided that now, more than ever before, we needed help from the LEA.

"[During a meeting with Rita Dexter and chief educational officer Lyndsey Stone] we were told they could not help us. They were caught up in a conflict of interests.

"Their unhelpful comment was 'You have got a problem, haven't you?'"

A spokesman for Barnet Council said: "The governors' responses and the written views of other interested groups will be reviewed and analysed by the scrutiny committee on March 12 before a full report is presented to cabinet."