THE green light has been given for a formal police investigation into bonus payments that took the scalps of four senior school managers.

Sir Alan Davies, ex-headteacher of Copland Community School, in Wembley, resigned in mid-October following allegations he pocketed £600,000 in payments labelled “unlawful” by Brent Council.

Police were originally handed a report into the scandal in January, but were only given authority by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to launch their own inquiry in June, the Harrow Times can reveal.

The news follows revelations ex-deputy head Dr Richard Evans, sacked in November over bonuses paid to a range of staff, allegedly totalling £1.6 million, has gone on to teach maths at Mill Hill County High School.

Hank Roberts, the trade union leader who exposed the scandal, said: “It's been a long fight and we've had to say that if they don't bring formal charges we will do it ourselves.

“This is not a trivial amount of money for a school.”

So far police have made no arrests.

Sir Alan, Dr Evans, bursar Columbus Udokoro and HR manager Michelle Bishop were all charged with gross misconduct based on the report that was handed to police.

Only Dr Evans was sacked, the remaining three resigned.

John Christie, director of children and families, outlined allegations against the staff to Copland's governors at an interim stage in the council's investigation.

He said: “Funds which should have been used for the proper purposes of the school, and above all for providing education for pupils of the highest standard that the budget could provide, have been spent on what appear to be unlawful and irrational payments to staff.”

Geoffrey Thompson, the headmaster of Mill Hill County High, said: “The circumstances which led to Dr Evans’s departure from his previous post had no connection whatsoever with his teaching.

“He has demonstrated he has been an excellent maths teacher during his time at Mill Hill County High School.”

Dr Evans was paid more than £300,000 on top of his salary over five years.

Alex Stephens, a spokesman for the Met's Specialist Crime Directorate, said: "The matter has been assessed and, following consultation with the CPS, a decision has been made that the Metropolitan Police Service Fraud Squad has begun an investigation into allegations associated with the school's finances."