Hostile witnesses

Might the “hostility, sometimes bordering on hatred” that troubles Peter Crisp, chief executive and dean of BPP Law School, be due, at least in part, to public pronouncements made by his predecessors? (“Sound and fury”, 24 January.) For example, in an article in the national press a few years ago, Charles Prior (one “P” in BPP) stated: “Our staff are not distracted by research. In fact, I am unlikely to employ someone from a university.”

Should we be concerned by the conferment of degree-awarding powers on BPP in light of such statements?

Richard M.S. Wilson
Emeritus professor
Loughborough University