Former “superhead” Liam Nolan has been found guilty of unprofessional conduct for receiving a “second salary” while head of the now-defunct Perry Beeches Academy Trust.

Mr Nolan looked impassive as the judgement was read out at a tribunal in Coventry, where he stood accused of dishonest conduct and a lack of integrity in relation to £160,000 of payments he received while chief executive of the trust.

“The panel is satisfied that Mr Nolan is guilty of unacceptable professional conduct,” said chair William Brown.

“Mr Nolan’s actions constitute conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute.”

A 2016 investigation by the Education Funding Authority revealed the trust had paid almost £1.3 million to Nexus Schools Ltd without following proper procedures.

Nexus then paid Mr Nolan £160,000 over two years through his company, Liam Nolan Ltd, on top of his £120,000 annual salary.

Mr Brown said Mr Nolan had taken a “cavalier” approach to accounting and had shown a “reckless disregard” for professional standards.

“The panel was in no doubt that Mr Nolan failed to adhere to the ethical standards of the teaching profession,” he said. 

Andrew Faux, who represented Mr Nolan, said despite the judgement, it was not in the public interest to bar him from teaching.

“He feels that he has let down the children of Birmingham. He wishes to apologise for that,” he said, as he pleaded for clemency in sentencing. 

The panel will now send its recommendation as to whether Mr Nolan will be banned from teaching to the secretary of state, who will decide in the next few days.

Perry Beeches trust, which ran five academies, was closed down in 2017, after a Department for Education investigation discovered serious financial mismanagement. Auditors found the trust ran a net deficit of £2.5 million in 2015-16.

Mr Nolan is no stranger to controversy or courts. In 2007 he was convicted of outraging public decency after being caught in bushes with another man in a park and fined £1,000.

The General Teaching Council ruled he could keep his job at Perry Beeches School the following year, citing his “outstanding skills as a headteacher”.

In a statement issued after today’s judgement, Mr Faux said: “Mr Nolan is pleased that the panel accepted that his actions were not dishonest.

“The total of Mr Nolan’s pay and benefits package was not outside payment levels within the sector. The payment of part of that package via a limited company has been subject to a tax enquiry and, as noted by the panel today, there is no suggestion that his personal tax affairs were not managed correctly.

“There was a mistake in the 2013-14 accounts in relation to the disclosure of payments to Liam Nolan Ltd. Those payments had been declared in 2012-13 and were declared in 2014-15.   

“Mr Nolan’s working arrangement was created by the Trust’s directors however he did not formally declare his business interests on a form in December 2014. The panel’s findings today, in the main, relate to those two mistakes.

“At the time of the mistakes, Mr Nolan had no developed understanding of the role of accounting officer. He is an educationalist and not an accountant.  

“Mr Nolan deeply regrets that his failure to understand and adhere to the high standards expected of an accounting officer led to the collapse of the educational project that he was involved in.

“He accepts the panel’s finding that his actions as an Accounting Officer demonstrate a lack of integrity. He believes that by his actions he has let down his colleagues, the profession generally and, more importantly, the children of Birmingham.”