Bullying Report Published

Imperial College has published a redacted version of the infamous 2020 bullying inquiry, shared with the College community shortly before the wider public.

A decision, made by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) on January 19th, stated that the public interest of publication of the report outweighed privacy concerns of some of those involved. The ICO added that the privacy of those who had given evidence was paramount to disclosing the full report. As such, a version of the report with all details that could lead to the identification of witnesses redacted was published.

The report makes it clear that at least one other person who was accussed of bullying and/or harrassment has had their details completely redacted. This is seemingly because no allegation against them was upheld.

The report gives unprecedented insight into the behaviours of Alice and Muir prior to, and at the beginning of, the pandemic. A clear distinction is made between the behaviours of Alice and Muir, with Muir's conduct being recorded as notably worse. This is highlighted in the conclusions of the report: "I consider that in those parts of the College considered in this report and at the most senior level, there is a culture of making disparaging comments about, undermining and excluding others (AG and MS). There are behaviours that cross the line between strong management and bullying (MS only), aggressive behaviours (MS only) and the use of inappropriate and offensive language (MS only)".

Alice Gast

Alice was found to have undermined at least one person "both personally and professinally".

She is also found to have treated at least one person in a way that is "belittling and undermining". Her actions have led to one accuser suffering "from lack of sleep and weight loss".

The investigator notes that Alice "did not deliberately treat [REDACTED] in an adverse manner", but that she lacked insight into the consequences of her actions.

Her actions which the investigator considered particularly serious have been redated, other than that she prevented someone from doing their job at the beginning of the pandemic, apparently by excluding them and not dealing with issues of poor performance in an appropriate manner.

Further instances looked at in the report show Alice's "adverse, abrupt and unempathetic treatment of members of staff", however it is concluded that these did not amount to bullying, rather that they were "one-off incidents which... had only a transient impact on the individuals involved".

The Plight of Sanderson

One of the most crucial revelations from the report is that there is a notable difference in the behaviour of Alice and Muir.

Muir comes out of the report significantly worse off than Alice. His behaviour is described as undermining, condesending, offensive, aggressive, intimidating, distressing, disparaging, excluding, disrespectful, humiliating and abhorrent.

Whilst the main reason for the report was to judge whether Alice and Muir had in fact bullied other members of staff, the report highlights the facts that Muir was dismissive of complaints against other members of staff and held the opinions of students in very low regard.

On the matter of bringing a paper on responsible investment to College Council, which we can assume had the backing of some students, the report describes "MS being dismissive and saying that he could just 'fold his arms and wait for the students to graduate'".

On dismissing complaints against other staff members, the report says "It is troubling in this day and age that one of the most senior employees at an institution like Imperial College should think that a comment made by a senior employee referring to a “one-armed black lesbian” should be treated as a joke". The College added a note to say that this comment was made by an ex-member of staff.

On another matter, which involved a greivance so strong that the offending party had offered to resign, Muir suggested that the complainant and offender go for lunch in order to "iron it out".

He is also quoted as having used the phrase "leaving the plantation", though there is no context to this.

In strange contrast, the report notes "I was impressed by the many positive things said about" Muir.

Culture

It is very difficult to read the report as a whole due to the massive amount of redacted detail. Points made in the reasoning appear at many times contradictory to the conclusions stated. Despite a conclusion of the report being "my findings do not enable me to conclude that there is a culture of bullying at the College", it is added that "AG and MS have created or contributed to a culture which involves and tolerates favouritism, exclusion, the making of disparaging comments about others and at times a lack of respect for others".

"the College demands and assumes excellence but is less good at rewarding and recognising excellence"

The report highlights that in some aspects the College suffers from a culture of disparaging behaviour, as opposed to acts solely committed by Alice and Muir. One example highlighted in the report is "It was striking that within hours of MS (Muir) saying that [REDACTED] should “grow a backbone”, [REDACTED] was commenting that [REDACTED] had “not shown a lot of backbone”, emulating behaviours demonstrated by MS."

Several comments made to the investigator suggest favouritism based on personal preference of the senior leadership rather than competency in their role. On nominating members of a group referred to as 'Silver' in the report, it was said that "the selection was not entirely objective. There was no very satisfactory explanation for the selection of individuals that was made".

There was also concern raised over the distribution of power within the College's leadership. The report describes Muir as 'de facto COO' as well as CFO, and adds that "I have referred to the perceived problem of power being centred in two or three individuals at the College and the exclusion from the decision-making process of those who should be included in the interests of good governance".

"At the most senior level of the College, there is a culture of making disparaging comments about others who are absent and tolerating the making of such comments by others"

Imperial College Union said "Alongside the specific incidents of bullying referred to, the report paints a picture of a culture at the top of the institution without empathy, in which exclusion and disrespect are practiced and encouraged by the most senior leaders.

There will be many reading this report who see reflections of their own experiences, and who will rightly connect the most negative aspects of the culture throughout the College with the poor example demonstrated by its leadership. Many will also question whether it is worth disclosing their own experiences through a formal complaint, when severe cases of mistreatment do not have more significant consequences.

Last year, the Union Council formally called for the resignation of President Alice Gast and Chief Financial Officer Muir Sanderson over the confirmed bullying incidents. Today’s report shows clearly why their position remains untenable."