DLA said this week it was 'surprised and disappointed' at the decision by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to bring charges against Manchester partners Anthony Brian Winterburn and Andrew David Harris.

The SFO confirmed that the pair appeared last week at Derby Magistrates' Court, charged with conspiracy to defraud North Derby Tertiary College of Education and conspiracy to pervert the course of public justice.

Andrew Harris has also been charged with perjury.

They deny all charges.

A DLA statement said that despite repeated requests for evidence, 'the SFO have failed to provide anything meaningful at all'.

An internal review also 'found no evidence of wrongdoing or impropriety on the part of either Winterburn or Harris'.

Jeremy Fleming