EDUCATION Secretary Michael Gove is to face up to Merseyside fury over his axing of 26 school rebuilds.

He yesterday faced a Commons barracking when he attempted to justify the cancellation of the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme.

The Tory cabinet minister was already under fire over last week’s botched announcement covering over 700 projects nationwide.

He insisted the school building “overhaul” was necessary because of BSF’s record of late delivery and incompetence.

He claimed that primary schoolchildren were being let down by the “botched” attempt to turn around secondary education.

But he was pressed by West Derby MP Stephen Twigg, himself a former schools minister, to come to Liverpool and see for himself the impact of his cuts on a generation of youngsters.

Mr Gove admitted that Liverpool secondary school projects were among three areas nationwide to be hardest hit.

He agreed to either go to Liverpool himself before the end of the year to explain why BSF needed to be axed, or send “one of my ministerial team”.

That was initially seen as a way of side-stepping the row and possibly sending instead his junior minister, Lib-Dem MP Sarah Teather, to take the flak.

But Mr Twigg said: “We don’t want a junior . . . we want the Secretary of State to come to Liverpool and face the music.”

The Department of Education said that Mr Gove would “face the challenge”, although a spokesman said that there remained difficulties over the timetable. Mr Twigg said: “He can’t dodge, he can’t avoid, he has to see for himself the anger which is felt on Merseyside.”

Mr Gove’s tentative acceptance that Liverpool may be disproportionately affected has led to Westminster speculation there could be a limited rethink of the Liverpool city region’s schools programme.