Suspended Buckingham v-c says allegations against him ‘baseless’

The University of Buckingham’s vice-chancellor has dismissed allegations made against him as “baseless and malicious” after he was suspended from his post.

Students at the private university have been informed that James Tooley faces an inquiry and his deputies have been asked to cover his duties while this is ongoing.

The nature of the allegations has not been made public but was described as “serious” in a letter sent by Mark St John Qualter, Buckingham’s chair of council, the BBC reported.

But in a statement released via his solicitor, Professor Tooley said he would be contesting the claims.

“The allegations made against me are baseless and malicious,” he said. “I look forward to being vindicated in due course, but in accordance with the university’s processes, I am unable to comment further at this time. I remain, however, a committed advocate of free speech and academic freedom.”

Buckingham’s vice-chancellor since 2020, Professor Tooley, a former professor of education policy at Newcastle University, has been an outspoken critic of diversity efforts in higher education and earlier this year launched a new course on “wokeism”.

In 2022 the institution was fined £37,000 by the regulator, the Office for Students, after its 2019 accounts were filed two years late.

Earlier in 2022 Mark Rawlinson, a former chair of UK investment banking at Morgan Stanley, resigned as chair of its governing council, claiming he had lost confidence in Professor Tooley’s leadership.

A Buckingham spokesperson said: “We can confirm a member of the university staff has been suspended due to a number of serious allegations.

“It is our intention that an independent inquiry be conducted to ascertain the veracity of these claims. We are unable to make any further comment until this investigation is completed.”

tom.williams@timeshighereducation.com