Sir Michael Scholar has written to the Home Office to seek reassurances that figures were not released to generate positive news coverage.

BBC: UK Border Agency

Today, the head of the official watchdog on government statistics, Sir Michael Scholar of the UKSA, has written to the Mr Grayling's boss, Iain Duncan Smith at the Department of Work and Pensions questioning the interpretation and release of the new "research".

BBC: The difference between ��research�� and ��statistics��

With just a few days to go until Sir Michael Scholar leaves his job at the helm of the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA), the watchdog has for the first time turned its fire, not on politicians or civil servants it thinks have misused official stats, but on members of the press.

BBC: Watchdog v newshound

Its leading lights include Sir Michael Tippett, a composer, Yehudi Menuhin, a virtuoso violinist, and Kathleen Raine, a poet and scholar.

ECONOMIST: Foes and fogeys