UCEA is sent to the headmaster for a severe ticking off

The news that the Universities and Colleges Employers' Association had been called before the House of Commons' Education Select Committee to face a dressing down over "misleading" statements it had made about the pay dispute was greeted with much Schadenfreude .

One Natfhe wag said: "Rumour has it that [Ucea chairman] Geoffrey Copland has been instructed to wait outside the select committee's door with his trousers folded over his arm!

"He is already stuffing £3.5 billion down his underpants. Perhaps that explains where the money for pay has gone."

During the tense 15-minute special session of the committee this week, it was like a naughty schoolboy had been dragged to the headmaster's office for a caning - metaphorically speaking at least.

Barry Sheerman, select committee chair, was furious. After last week's evidence session on the pay dispute, Ucea rushed out a press release claiming support from the influential committee of MPs.

Ucea claimed that the committee had "added its voice" to demands that the lecturers' unions put a 12.6 per cent pay offer to a ballot of their members, and Dr Copland was reported to be "delighted" with the MPs' backing.

Mr Sheerman said that this was a "total manipulation of the truth".

He said: "We had tried not to get involved, and thought we were helping get the two sides together and move the damaging dispute on. So I was astonished to read the press release - astonished and hurt."

Dr Copland "apologised unreservedly" and explained that the press release was "a mistake that happened in the flurry of activity after the meeting".

Jocelyn Prudence, Ucea's chief executive, took the blame for the release and for the comments attributed to Dr Copland, which he apparently did not even read.

Mr Sheerman accepted the apologies, but concluded: "Playing these sorts of games will not finish this dispute and your actions have made relations with the unions more difficult. Please do not ever do this sort of thing again. You cannot dally any longer... Please go away and get on with your job."