Imperial College London’s Alice Gast ‘very sorry’ for bullying

An apology, a new policy and a training course. Are you serious? Bullying and intimidation are part and parcel of the management culture in UK HE. It is a systemic problem not an isolated incident. As usual, these systemic issues are hidden behind the focus on individuals. This does not mean there should be no consequences for said individuals. It means that these steps will not address the underlying causes of the toxic social pathology that afflicts UK HE.

Would it be of concern if an autocratic state conducts internal investigations on its own human right violations? It does not require much imagination to see that internal investigations based on self-controlled procedures not only institutionalize bullying and harassment but also fraud. The only solution to this: external investigations by supranational committees. This is reminiscent of the core problem of BREXIT: Having interpretative sovereignty over laws and values serves the autocrats but not an advanced civilization.