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Secretary of state for science Michelle Donelan has retracted and paid an undisclosed sum over claims that an adviser to a leading UK scientific research body had expressed “sympathy or support” for Hamas.
Donelan withdrew her allegations against Professor Kate Sang, as well as fellow adviser Kamna Patel, after she accused both of sharing extremist views and called for UK Research and Innovation to shut their group down.
The climbdown came after a months-long investigation by UKRI concluded on Tuesday that the advisers had done nothing wrong. The case had triggered criticism that the government was trying to police speech by scientific researchers.
The affair also raised questions about whether it had created significant costs to the taxpayer. An official close to the government said the sum paid to Sang was “subject to all the usual cross-government processes”.
The aim was to “reduce the overall costs to the taxpayer that could result from protracted legal action”, they added, declining further comment about the expenses incurred.
“We clearly need to know whether taxpayers’ money is being wasted on their bogus war against unknown elements of our world-class scientific community,” said Peter Kyle, shadow secretary of state for science, innovation and technology.
“It’s now for the government to prove she [Donelan] has the confidence of the academic and scientific communities. If not, her position is untenable,” he added.
Sang said she was “very disturbed by the way in which Michelle Donelan and UKRI behaved”. Sang and Patel are members of an expert advisory group on equality, diversity and inclusion at Research England, which is part of UKRI.
“Had they asked me at the start, I would have explained the true position,” Sang said in a statement issued through Bindmans, her libel lawyers. “Instead, Michelle Donelan made a cheap political point at my expense and caused serious damage to my reputation,” she added.
Donelan had attacked the two advisers in a letter that she wrote in October to UKRI’s chief executive Dame Ottoline Leyser and posted on X, formerly Twitter. Donelan expressed “disgust and outrage” at their appointment, further suggesting they had breached the Nolan principles for conduct in public life.
On Tuesday, Donelan posted a statement on X saying she had deleted her original post and fully accepted that Sang was “not an extremist, a supporter of Hamas or other proscribed organisation”. The UK government designates Hamas a terrorist group.
UKRI said its investigation into Donelan’s complaint had found no evidence that the advisers had breached either their roles’ terms of reference or the Nolan principles. There was also no evidence members of the advisory group had supported a proscribed terrorist organisation or shared extremist material, UKRI added.
Patel said there was “never any need for UKRI to investigate”, as it should have been “obvious from the start” that neither she nor Sang had broken the Nolan principles nor expressed extremist views.
“Worryingly, it appears UKRI were steered by who made the claim and not its substance,” Patel said via Bindmans.
UKRI said it regretted “any difficulties” experienced by advisory group members “during this period”.
“We now warmly invite the group to reconvene and to contribute their expertise as we resume the group’s important work,” it said.
William Turner is a seasoned U.K. correspondent with a deep understanding of domestic affairs. With a passion for British politics and culture, he provides insightful analysis and comprehensive coverage of events within the United Kingdom.
