ON the face of it Sajid Hussain Raza was the driven and impassioned founder and principal of a flagship free school in Bradford.

So much so that a visit to the newly-opened school by then Prime Minister David Cameron gained national attention.

But beneath the surface, the reality was very different.

Far from being committed to helping pupils develop to the best of their abilities, Raza, 43, and his criminal accomplices, his sister, Shabana Hussain, 40, and the school’s then financial director, Daud Khan, 44, were cynically plundering some of its funds to line their own pockets.

But even after they were caught red handed by Department for Education investigators, the trio’s despicable behaviour continued as they sought to deny the offences, forcing a lengthy trial to take place - again at taxpayers’ expense - where they mounted frankly risible defences or blamed each other.

Yesterday, the cold reality of the situation finally caught up with them as they were sentenced at Leeds Crown Court. But the key question remains as to how Raza, in particular, was able to elevate himself to such a position of responsibility from relatively humble roots as a teacher in Bradford.

Meanwhile, the rush to create free schools continues apace.

It must be hoped that this case sounds loud warning bells, that those entrusted with being custodians of both children’s futures and significant sums of public cash, must be fit and proper persons.