The address of the alleged correspondent was found to be false. A copy of two of the most recent examples of these letters remained on file, clearly in Mr Ings handwriting. The two papers had the originals on file as well, and that confirmed who the writer had been.
Bacons was concerned to sweep this under the carpet, because publicity about what actually happened would have been destructive in the extreme, not just to the school, but to the entire educational system, or at least schools of the same ilk as Bacons. The legal compensation involved in settling cases out of court was apparently huge, but the alternative put to the governors by the Chief Inspector was his report inadvertently entering the public domain.