While some critics now say Mrs Law, commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, did the honourable thing by resigning on Wednesday, they remain concerned that a government official pressured the head of HKIEd to fire academic staff who had publicly criticised the government's policies.

Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen appeared less convinced of the doubt cast on Mrs Law's integrity, telling media he had tried to persuade her to reconsider her decision. 'I have absolutely no doubt about Mrs Law's credibility and trustworthiness as a person,' he said.

The commission thought otherwise. It found the allegation that Mrs Law pressured Professor Morris to sack four academics 'partially established' in relation to two cases, that of former institute lecturer Ip Kin-yuen and Cheng Yin-cheong.

The findings concluded it was 'improper for someone of Mrs Law's position to attempt to silence critics by addressing them personally or through their superiors, irrespective of the motive'.

The report said: 'Finally, it was likely that when Mrs Law made her complaints, her reason was clouded by frustration and anger. However, the above possibilities did not constitute, individually or collectively, an excuse, let alone a justification ... it was unacceptable that she did not express her opinions openly and through proper channels, but instead in a manner with the semblance, if not also the substance, of intimidation and reprisal.'

The commission criticised the way Mrs Law had handled criticism of reform. 'Dissent should not be met with contempt or insensitivity, but rather with humility, courage and tolerance,' the report said. 'Even if such dissent is unreasonable and unfounded, it should be countered with wise and civil discourse, not derogation or personal intimidation.'

Chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Higher Education Staff Associations, Shum Kar-ping, said resigning was a wise decision for Mrs Law. He said academics would be happy to see her go because they did not appreciate her management style.

'If you stay on in the post, people will think she's not a reliable person and cannot trust her,' he said.

The commission also delivered a damning finding on the incident between Mrs Law and her school classmate, HKIEd academic Magdalena Mok Mo-ching.

Commission chairman Wally Yeung Chun-kuen accepted Professor Mok's testimony that Mrs Law did ask her to 'fire' former lecturer Ip Kin-yuen. 'The commission accepted that [she] was likely to be telling the truth ... she had no motivation to lie about Mrs Law and there was no room for misunderstanding.'

The report said Mrs Law's allegation that Professor Mok had fabricated her evidence had had an adverse impact on her credibility.

Professor Allan Walker, chair of Chinese University's department of educational administration and policy, said it appeared the evidence by Professor Mok had contributed to the commission's verdict on Mrs Law. 'It seemed to be that the main one that undid her was the testimony by Professor Mok,' he said.

Professor Walker said the report concluded that Mrs Law had been more involved in applying pressure on the institute than Professor Li.

'She seemed to be perceived to be more intimately involved and that may have gone against her,' he said.

In one of the few positive conclusions on Mrs Law, the commission cast doubt on the allegation that Mrs Law told former HKIEd academic vice-president Bernard Luk Hung-kay that Hong Kong teachers were 'all so stupid' at a cocktail lunch in Toronto, Canada in 2000.

It concluded that even if Mrs Law did make such comments: 'They had the quality of a party joke, albeit a tasteless one.'