A headmaster who faced a backlash from anti-poverty campaigners over refusing to feed pupils who were in debt has claimed his council threw him under the bus.
Neil Foden, claims a letter he sent to parents which included a threat to deny meals to pupils more than 1p in debt, was based on advice he received from his bosses.
The demands were met with anger from parents who shared the letter with anti-poverty campaigners and even sparked a response from Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford, who raised his concerns.
School governors have since said they would not back position that would result in children being refused food and called on the council to review the procedures described.
Gwynedd Council has apologised for any concern caused by the letter, which was issued to parents of Ysgol Dyffryn Nantlle in Penygroes.
Mr Foden told BBC Wales that the council’s statement in response to the row had given “an impression that I had acted outside the authority’s policy”.
But in a letter to parents, he said that after initially agreeing the wording of a council press release, “they put all the responsibility on me” in the later statement, according the Daily Post.
He added: “I have been thrown under the bus.”
Mr Foden said he had “consulted the authority” about school dinner debts that had built up since late last year.
He said he had received an email from the council instructing him to tell parents that any debts over £10 would be transferred to the local authority and that the cook would not feed children unless their debt had been cleared.
“All I did was to pass on the authority’s message to parents”, he said.
Mr Foden said the situation “has been very damaging to me”, with him having forwarded more than 20 verbally abusive emails to the police.
“I have broad shoulders, but it gets to the point where every time the phone makes a noise or another email has arrived you think what next?,” he said.
He said he would “think twice” before sending messages on behalf of others “without making it clear that I am working on their behalf”.
In a statement, Gwynedd Council said: “The welfare of children and young people is always our priority, and we will always ensure that no child across the county will face a day without lunch at school.
“This should be made clear in any letter to parents from the county’s schools when discussing school dinners.”
The council is urging anyone “experiencing difficulty” paying for school meals to get in touch.
