Image: NTNU [CC BY-SA 2.0]; The Conservative Party [CC BY 2.0], via Flickr
Investigation finds no grounds for science secretary’s request to shut down advisory panel
National funder UK Research and Innovation has exonerated members of an equality, diversity and inclusion panel after the science secretary publicly called for it to be shut down last autumn.
On 28 October, Michelle Donelan (pictured right) wrote to UKRI chief executive Ottoline Leyser (pictured left), accusing some panel members of sharing “extremist views” about the Israel-Hamas war on social media.
“My strong preference would be that you immediately close this group and undertake an urgent investigation into how this happened,” Donelan said. She published a copy of the letter on X (formerly Twitter) but her post has since been deleted.
Leyser suspended the panel while an investigation took place. Today UKRI published the investigation’s results, which found no case to answer by the panel’s members and no grounds for their removal.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said it accepted the report’s findings, while the head of the University College Union said the results confirmed that Michelle Donelan’s “unprecedented, politicised intervention was an outrageous attack on academic freedom”.
‘No evidence of a breach’
Research England announced the members of its first equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) expert advisory group on 26 October. Two days later, Donelan voiced her “disgust and outrage” that several members might have breached the terms of their appointment, in relation to their social media activity.
She accused them of sharing “extremist views” and “expressing sympathy or support” for Hamas, a proscribed terrorist organisation.
But in a statement today, UKRI said: “Following the independent investigation, the UKRI board has found no evidence of a breach of the Research England expert advisory group on EDI’s terms of reference.
“Moreover, the UKRI board found no evidence in the public domain of support for a proscribed terrorist organisation or the sharing of extremist material and no grounds to remove any individual members of the Research England Expert Advisory Group on EDI.”
Donelan also raised concerns that some members of the panel “appear to have contravened the Nolan principles of public life, which the members signed up to”.
But UKRI said its board found “no failure to uphold” these principles.
A spokesperson for the agency told Research Professional News that “the investigation report was carried out by an independent investigator assigned by Conflict Management Solutions—an impartial third party”.
Panel invited to reconvene
During the row, the UK research community criticised Donelan, with many accusing her of overreaching. Concerns were also raised over the welfare of the panel members Donelan named in her letter.
UKRI also attracted criticism for responding to Donelan’s concerns by suspending the panel, with a wave of resignations from its voluntary grant review panels attributed to the suspension.
The agency said it “regrets any difficulties experienced by members of the Research England Expert Advisory Group during this period”.
In her initial response to Donelan’s letter last autumn, Leyser said the investigation would be used to “come to a conclusion about the ultimate future of the Research England EDI advisory group”.
The conclusion reached is that the group should continue working.
“The Research England council has advised that expert input to the Research England EDI action plan is still required from a range of sources including this expert advisory group,” the agency said.
“We now warmly invite the group to reconvene and to contribute their expertise as we resume the group’s important work.”
Leyser said UKRI intended “to adopt a well-governed process to support evidenced, principled decisions”.
“I hope this will bring clear resolution in a way that best supports all of those who serve on our advisory groups, and research and innovation in the UK,” she added.
‘Outrageous attack on academic freedom’
Commenting on the investigation’s conclusion, the recently re-elected University and College Union general secretary Jo Grady slammed Donelan for her “outrageous attack on academic freedom”.
Grady said the investigation “completely exonerates” the academics and “confirms Michelle Donelan’s unprecedented, politicised intervention was an outrageous attack on academic freedom. This whole affair has had a chilling effect on university campuses and exposes the lie that hard-right Tory ministers are the supposed guardians of free speech.
“Donelan must now apologise for throwing the careers of highly respected academics into turmoil for the sake of another Tory anti-woke headline.”
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said: "We are grateful for the work on the independent investigation into the appointment and membership of this advisory group and accept the findings of the report.”