House GOP leaders say they were surprised and disgusted by the explicit messages made public this week, but admit they were aware that Foley was in e-mail contact with teenage male pages.
Top House Republicans have said they were aware months ago of e-mail contact between Foley and a teenage male page, but that they had no knowledge of sexually explicit messages that have subsequently come to light.
Education Secretary Michael Gove said more male teachers were needed but they were put off by worries that teacher-pupil contact was a "legal minefield".