Birmingham schools were targeted by hard line Muslim governors in a 'planned and orchestrated' plot to radicalise pupils, Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw told MPs today.

He said headteachers in the city had told him that schools were being 'infiltrated' by extremists in a bid to take over the day to day running.

The remarks come after Education Secretary Michael Gove said Birmingham City Council had questions to answer over claims it ignored warnings about the 'Trojan Horse' plot to takeover schools.

Sir Michael Wilshaw, the head of Ofsted, told MPs that eight or nine headteachers had told him there was a plot to take over the day to day running of schools

Education Committee chair Graham Stuart said political parties like the Conservatives and Labour had always tried to influence the way schools were run

Speaking to MPs on the Education Select Committee this morning, Sir Michael was asked to explain what evidence there was that previously 'outstanding' schools had been targeted by Islamic extremists.

He said: 'I spoke to eight or nine head teachers. They believed it was planned and orchestrated.

'They believed people got together and decided which schools to target. They believed there was a strategy to infiltrate governing bodies.

'They believed governing boards couldn't take place in the normal way. They believed all that was planned and orchestrated. This was all in Birmingham.'

He said in the future he wanted to see inspectors in schools once every three years - instead of one inspection in five years today.

But when asked by MPs if pupils had been radicalised in the schools, Sir Michael said: 'We didn't see that. The issue of extremism was outside of our remit.'

The Ofsted chief inspector told MPs: 'What we did see was the promotion of a culture, which if that promotion had continued would have exposed these children to extremism.'

He added: 'What we did see was governors coming into schools to move staff and for governors of the school to promote their ideas. It was distressing for me as an ex-headteacher to see teachers being treated that way.'

Sir Michael confirmed that Ofsted has been looking at around 20 schools across England that have been downgraded from outstanding to inadequate due to 'failings in governance'.

Giving evidence to the Commons education select committee, he said: 'We are looking at other schools where this might be a problem. We’ve certainly been to schools in Bradford and Luton.'

Sir Michael's appearance at the Commons came after the Education Secretary this weekend said it was essential extremists were not given an a platform to radicalise pupils.

Speaking to MPs on the Education Select Committee this morning, Sir Michael was asked to explain what evidence there was that previously 'outstanding' schools had been targeted by Islamic extremists.

He said: 'I spoke to eight or nine head teachers. They believed it was planned and orchestrated.

'They believed people got together and decided which schools to target. They believed there was a strategy to infiltrate governing bodies.

'They believed governing boards couldn't take place in the normal way. They believed all that was planned and orchestrated. This was all in Birmingham.'

He said in the future he wanted to see inspectors in schools once every three years - instead of one inspection in five years today.

Sir Michael's appearance at the Commons came after the Education Secretary this weekend said it was essential extremists were not given an a platform to radicalise pupils

Former top counter-terror police officer Peter Clarke was asked to review the handling of extremism in schools over more than a decade

A major report by former top counter-terror police officer Peter Clarke is expected to criticise officials in Birmingham and Whitehall for failing to act on concerns about teaching in some schools.

Head teachers told Ofsted there was an organised campaign to impose a ‘narrow, faith-based ideology’ at some schools in the city.

It placed five of the city’s schools in special measures after ‘deeply worrying’ findings.

Mr Clarke was brought in to carry out a review of the way complaints were handled an acted upon during more than a decade.

The inquiry has identified up to 25 state schools, some directly run by the council, according to the Sunday Telegraph.

Mr Gove told BBC One’s Andrew Marr programme: ‘There are broader questions about the extent to which these activities were coordinated and the extent to which those responsible for these activities may have had a broader agenda.

‘Peter is looking into that and we have to wait to see what he concludes...

‘There are questions for the local authority and of course for my department, the Department for Education about what was known and what was done.’

He defended his decision to appoint Mr Clarke, the former Scotland Yard head of counter-terrorism, to lead the investigation.

‘There was some criticism, right at the beginning of this process, when I appointed Peter. People felt that it was in some respects, too dramatic and authoritarian a step.

'But the view that I took was if you have a police officer of unimpeachable integrity to conduct these investigations, if people are at the end of this process cleared, given a clean bill of health, then that is the most effective way of ensuring that public confidence can be restored.’

Mr Clarke’s report is expected to be published later this summer.

The government has announced that schools will be shut down if they fail to promote British values.

Mr Gove called for a 'robust' defence of liberal values in the face of the challenge from Islamist extremists.