Britain's General Teaching Council was told a primary school headmaster was suspended after he allegedly referred to female teaching staff as his "harem."

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The council was told during the hearing that Malcolm Beresford, 52, was suspended as headmaster of the Willoughton Primary School in Gainsborough, England, in November 2005 for alleged "unacceptable professional misconduct," including referring to a female staff member as his "lover" and giving a school governor the nickname "posh pants," The Daily Mail reported Friday.

Beresford, who began working for the school in 1996, also was alleged to have made a payment of about $4,500 in school funds for his wife, the head of IT at the school, to take a Web site design course without making the required deductions for school resource use.

Officials also accused Beresford of keeping school computer equipment at his home without giving a reason to district administrators, leaving classes under the control of teaching assistants and failing to provide a qualified instructor for one class, The Daily Mail reported.

Beresford, who has been receiving full pay during his suspension, denied all of the claims against him. The General Teaching Council adjourned the hearing until February.