More academics resign from UKRI over science secretary’s dispute

Resignations follow trade union’s call for members holding voluntary positions at UKRI to quit

More academics are resigning from voluntary posts at UK Research and Innovation following the agency’s acceding to a minister’s demand that it shutter an advisory panel on equality issues and as the University and College Union asked its members to step down posts at the funder.

Last week, the trade union called on UKRI to reinstate the equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) advisory group, which the funder suspended on the insistence of the secretary of state for science. Michelle Donelan was angry about the what she saw as an inappropriate tone of tweets made by two members of the advisory group relating to the Israel-Hamas war.