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Michelle Donnellan on whether she received legal approval to publicly share the letter that gave rise to her defamation lawsuit, as Labor demands answers to ‘reassure the public’ increasingly faced with doubts.
I It was revealed earlier this week that the taxpayer had claimed £15,000 in compensation on Mr Donnellan’s behalf after the Science Secretary falsely accused two academics of holding “extreme” views. .
In October, the Science Secretary falsely accused two academics on the Nationally Funded Research Agency’s advisory group of supporting Hamas and called for them to be suspended in a letter to the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Secretary. .
Following an independent investigation, UKRI cleared the two academics of any wrongdoing and invited them to resume their roles on the advisory board.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) announced earlier this week that Mr Donnellan did not have to pay the £15,000 himself because the letter was sent in his capacity as a minister and signed by government lawyers.
However, the ministry still refuses to confirm whether she received permission to publish the letter.
DSIT declined to comment when asked repeatedly. I Whether Mr. Donnellan received permission from government lawyers to post the letter to X’s 38,000 followers, leading to the defamation suit.
Shadow science secretary Peter Kyle has now written to Ms Donnellan demanding that she answer key questions and speak in the House of Commons.
“Given the public interest in this case and the apparent significant departure from standard practice, an answer is required to reassure the public that this is an appropriate use of taxpayers’ money.” “I think there are a lot of questions,” he said. in a letter.
Mr Kyle called on the Science Secretary to reveal whether any civil servants or legal advisers were “involved in drafting or advising on the content” of his posts on X.
He also urged her to explain the existence of an 11-page document about one of the academics who cataloged three years of her social media posts. I last year.
Ms Donnellan ordered a special adviser to produce a secret document on the society’s social media posts supporting transgender rights, Black Lives Matter, the lecturers’ strike and criticism of No.10.
View internal government documents Iis divided into three chapters: “Anti-Racism,” “Transgender Advocacy,” and “Military Left,” and features posts by scholars about X, as well as her likes, retweets, academic literature, and upcoming events. Cataloged.
In a 2020 post about X, the scholar claims to have retweeted “Happy Transgender Visibility Day!” This is an example of “transgender advocacy.” The document also alleges that another post she retweeted in 2021 showing “solidarity with her striking colleagues” is an example of “militant leftism.”
Mr Kyle also asked Mr Donnellan to explain whether the £15,000 paid by the taxpayer was “the total cost of legal fees”.
Government officials revealed I It was a “full and final amount” and had already been paid, but it declined to provide details on the breakdown of damages and legal costs, or when they were paid.
Labor and the Liberal Democrats are calling on Mr Donnellan to repay the amount. Sir Keir Starmer said on Thursday that people have to pay for the costs when “people are really struggling to pay their bills and the government is saying, ‘We can’t afford to help any more.'” “It’s a total insult,” he said.
The Shadow Science Secretary said it was “difficult to justify spending taxpayers’ money on compensation”, adding: “Rather than making taxpayers pay for their mistakes, I would like them to pay back the money.” I strongly urge you to do so,” he added.
He also called on Mr Donnellan to “come to Parliament on Monday and make a statement”.
Ms Donnellan released a statement on Tuesday retracting the false claims, saying she was “pleased to be able to retract my initial concerns”. She has yet to apologize for the row, nor has she commented on the revelation that the taxpayer was footing the £15,000 compensation bill.
DSIT declined to comment.