MICHELLE Donelan has apologised for publicly posting a letter on social media falsely suggesting an academic had expressed sympathy for Hamas.
The Science Secretary later retracted her comments about Heriot-Watt University Professor Kate Sang and agreed to pay her £15,000 in taxpayer money.
She accepted there was “no evidence” the academic, who had recently been appointed to the UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) advisory group on equality, diversity and inclusion, was a Hamas supporter.
Speaking at the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee on Tuesday, Donelan said she should have privately written to UKRI raising her alleged concerns, instead of posting the letter on X/Twitter.
READ MORE: Scotland could have 'cheapest electricity in Europe', Octopus Energy chief says
She also said that civil servants were aware that she was going to publish her letter on the platform.
Donelan told the committee: “While I always err on the side of transparency, I am now clear that in this case, I could have sent the letter in confidence to the UKRI in order for them to undertake the investigations privately.
“And I do apologise for not having done so, and for any distraction that this decision has caused from this Government’s positive agenda.”
She added: “I highlighted it on the platform that the original tweet was done on – Twitter, or X – and that was something I have apologised for.
“With hindsight, I could have just sent it privately and if I had the ability to do it again, I would certainly just send it privately.
“So I’ve said that publicly as well as retracting the original comments, which I do think is important.
“In terms of advice, of course, with long-time precedent, we don’t get into the actual nature of the advice.
“But what I can tell you here today, is that both policy and legal were not only cited but also cleared the approach taken.”
The letter written by Donelan expressed “disgust and outrage” that Prof Sang and another academic, Dr Kamna Patel, had “shared extremist views” and, in Prof Sang’s case, expressed sympathy for the terrorist group after the October 7 attacks in Israel.
READ MORE: Humza Yousaf: Brexit cost Scotland £1.6bn in tax receipts in 2023
This followed a tweet by Prof Sang saying: “This is disturbing. Suella Braverman urges police to crack down on Hamas support in UK” with a link to an article by the Guardian describing the response to the Hamas attacks in the UK.
Donelan has since accepted that Prof Sang’s comments referred to the story as a whole, and not just the headline.
The Science Secretary told the committee she is a champion of academic freedom of speech and that the incident had to be viewed in the context of the recent Hamas attack at the time.
Donelan continued: “And we have seen a great deal of hatred across online social media platforms – something that I had addressed directly with the platforms themselves – and we were very worried about potential violence on our own streets.”
She also told the peers: “My actions were never motivated by any political desire.
READ MORE: Revealed: The guest list for Scottish Labour's secretive lobbying event
“They were motivated by a concern around whether proper process and due diligence had been followed.
“And as I outlined at the very beginning, in my initial statement, the specific tweet, or X, that I saw I felt was concerning especially given the context at the time, and that is why I highlighted it for an investigation by UKRI.”
Donelan also explained that there is “no surveillance at all” of academics and she had been alerted to the initial tweet by an official within the department.
Asked how the damage caused by the incident can be repaired, the Science Secretary said there would be an “internal review of processes to ensure that we learnt the lessons of this and that we don’t ever repeat those”.
It comes amid calls for Donelan to pay the £15,000 herself instead of relying on taxpayer cash.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel