Labour accuses Donelan of attempting to ‘cover up’ libel costs

Peter Kyle questions science secretary’s “integrity and professionalism” after incident sparked by claims about academic

Labour’s shadow science secretary Peter Kyle has accused his counterpart Michelle Donelan of trying to cover up costs from a libel complaint, which stemmed from claims she made about an academic adviser.

Last week, Research Professional News revealed fresh costs to the taxpayer resulting from a letter Donelan wrote last year. The letter accused members of an equality, diversity and inclusion advisory group under UK Research and Innovation of sharing “extremist views” about the Israel-Hamas war on social media.