John Allan resumes role as College Council Chair

John Allan, the former Tesco chair who stepped back from his role as Chairman of Imperial College Council after facing allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards women, has now resumed his duties. He will see out the remainder of his term, which ends in December.

Allan returned to his post on 14th July. The College says that staff have already been informed of the news, and that students will be updated in the first week of term.

None of the four anonymous allegations against Mr Allan have been substantiated, and he has vehemently denied all but one of them – that he told a woman her dress “suited her figure”. Mr Allan said he made the comment after seeing she was “looking a bit down in the mouth”, in an attempt to “cheer her up”. A spokesperson for Allan said he was “mortified” after making the comment, and apologised immediately.

Allan chose to step back at a meeting of College Council on Friday 12th May, saying he was doing so in the interests of the Imperial community. His resumption of duties marks a change from his original position; in May, Mr Allan said he would be stepping back until the situation was resolved.

In the aftermath of the allegations, Allan embarked on a campaign to assert his innocence. In a series of media interviews during May and June, he rebutted the claims, and positioned himself as a defender of the presumption of innocence.

Quite a lot of men say to me they’re getting increasingly nervous about working with women.

Allan described the current discourse around cases like his as “guilty until proven innocent”. He told The Times he was “definitely on the side of the angels”, having spent “my working life actually trying to ensure there are opportunities for women”.

Speaking to Sophy Ridge on Sky News in June, he said there was “absolutely no substance” in the claims, and felt he had been “propelled under the nearest bus”. Allan said he had received hundreds of letters of support since the claims emerged, many from women who knew him.

“It’s interesting that [the allegations] surfaced together in one article in The Guardian”, he continued. “That after 50-plus years of… impeccable conduct towards women, suddenly, this little clutch of allegations appears”.

Allan said that throughout his career, he had supported women who had faced unwanted advances from superiors. But, he added, “I am worried at the moment, that we might take a step back, because quite a lot of men say to me they’re getting increasingly nervous about working with women, mentoring women, something I’ve done a lot of right through my career.”

“I mean isn’t that a bit sexist in itself?” countered Ridge.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, Allan elaborated: “Younger male CEOs are now saying: 'Be careful about getting in a lift with so-and-so in case an allegation is made.’ And this is really unhelpful to women.”

“Now we’re getting to the stage where men’s rights also need to be protected.”

The Guardian, which originally reported the allegations, said: “We stand by our journalism and the people who continue to come forward to tell their stories despite the significant risks involved.”