A FORMER Mayor of Teignmouth and and former supply teacher at King Edward VI Community College, Totnes has been banned from teaching for life, two years after he was convicted of making and publishing indecent images.

James McMurray, 44, appeared before a public two-day professional conduct hearing of the Teaching Regulation Agency last month.

In a concluding statement released after the hearing, decision maker Stuart Blomfield said: ‘In my judgement, there is some risk of the repetition of this behaviour and this puts at risk the future wellbeing of pupils.

‘I am particularly mindful of the finding of a conviction and the impact such a finding has on the reputation of the profession.’

Mr McMurray, who was present at the hearing, served as a town, district and county councillor for Teignmouth.

He was the youngest mayor of Teignmouth when he served in 2012 to 2013 and stood for a parliamentary seat in Bristol for UKIP in a general election.

In 2024, McMurray pleaded guilty to offences of publishing obscene images and making indecent photos, or pseudo-photos of children.

He was sentenced at Newton Abbot Magistrates Court to 12 months in total imprisonment, suspended for two years and made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for a period of 10 years, register with the police for 10 years, 200 hours of unpaid work and a rehabilitation order.

The convictions related to four separate images of category A to C, category A being the most serious.

Mr McMurray, who previously lived in Willow Street, Teignmouth, had been arrested in November 2022 while working as a supply teacher at King Edward VI Community College in Totnes.

The hearing panel said Mr McMurray’s behaviour in committing these offences could affect public confidence in the teaching profession.

The panel was told by Mr McMurray’s representative that the images were historic in nature, had not been accessed in several years and were found on electronic devices that had been ‘hoarded’ by Mr McMurray.

Evidence from a witness described Mr McMurray was ‘a competent and capable professional’.

The panel was told Mr McMurray ‘regrets’ the convictions and accepted the gravity of them.

His representative also claimed he had diagnoses of OCD, autism and was bipolar.

However, the panel concluded: ‘It considered that within his written reflections, there was no acknowledgement of the impact or seriousness of his offending behaviour, or the consequences for the children involved.’

The panel made a recommendation to the Secretary of State that Mr McMurray should be the subject of a prohibition order, with no provision for a review period.

The panel has found that he was in breach of teaching standards and concluded there was misconduct which was particularly serious as his conviction concerned ‘offences relating to the making of indecent images of children and the publishing of an obscene article’.

It said it was ‘particularly concerning that this included one Category A image’.

The panel said there was a ‘strong public interest consideration in respect of the safeguarding and wellbeing of pupils’.

The conclusion means he is barred from teaching indefinitely and cannot teach in any school, sixth form college, relevant youth accommodation or children’s home in England.

And due to the seriousness of the allegations found proved against him, he is not entitled to apply for restoration of his eligibility to teach.