Panorama can also reveal Mr Saverimutto declared himself bankrupt in 1996.

When contacted by the BBC, Wirral Council said it was not aware of this and said responsibility to undertake due diligence checks laid with the DfE.

However, the DfE confirmed its due diligence checks did not examine the financial background of independent schools’ prospective proprietors.

Mr Saverimutto’s company Life Schools Ltd, which became a wholly owned subsidiary of SHE Ltd in January 2024, never filed full accounts before liquidating it in August.

Life Schools Ltd and SHE C.I.C. went into liquidation with combined liabilities of almost £500,000.

Since Panorama’s initial investigation, the school and gym have shut down, and three former school employees have been charged with offences including assault and abusive behaviour.

In October, one of those former members of staff, Elliot Millar, pleaded guilty at Wirral Magistrates’ Court to five offences including common assault of an adult, a public order offence, two counts of assault by beating, and common assault.

Earlier this month, he was jailed for 12 weeks.

Responding to Panorama’s investigation, the former director of the Council for Disabled Children, Dame Christine Lenehan, said: “It cannot be remotely acceptable that public money destined for children’s education is funnelled to other things.

“The local authority was charged to give children an intensive education service.

“The children did not receive this service and that is a fundamental misuse of public money.

“This is another example of the sector not being regulated effectively.

“The initial Panorama programme revealed failures in safeguarding, and now this suggests the misuse of public funds.

“The whole system has failed.”

Wirral Council paid up to £150,000 a year for one pupil for eight hours of schooling a week.

For this student, it said the school had neither provided good value for money nor delivered the service that had been agreed.