Academic Science Secretary Michelle Donelan has cost taxpayers £15,000 in compensation for unfairly supporting Hamas, her department has said.
According to the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), the amount was paid “without any admission of liability”.
The cabinet minister faces calls to resign and pay the costs himself after he was forced to retract comments he made about Professor Kate Sang last year.
Ms Donelan issued a statement on Tuesday saying there was “no evidence” the academic was a supporter of the militant group.
Prof Sang said the minister had written to UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) in October to discuss Prof Sang and another academic, Dr. He launched defamation proceedings against Ms Donelan after Kamna Patel tweeted a letter expressing “disgust and anger” that she “shared extremism”. His views” and in Prof Sang’s case, he expressed sympathy for Hamas after the October 7 attacks in Israel.
The letter followed a tweet from Professor Sang, who said: “This is disturbing” and included a link to a Guardian newspaper article describing the response to Hamas attacks in the UK. Dr. Patel, for her part, retweeted a post describing Israel’s actions as “genocide.” and apartheid”.
On Tuesday, Ms Donelan acknowledged that Prof Sang’s comments were in reference to the Guardian story as a whole, and not just the headline focusing on the government’s crackdown on support for Hamas.
My statement on recent correspondence from Research England’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Expert Advisory Group. pic.twitter.com/Fn3xRdwjxX
— Michelle Donelan MP (@michelledonelan) March 5, 2024
The Government subsequently faced calls to reveal how much had been spent settling the defamation claim after DSIT said it had covered the sum.
A DSIT spokesman said on Wednesday: “There is established precedent under many administrations that ministers are provided with legal support and representation on matters relating to their conduct and responsibilities as a minister, as here.
“The Secretary of State has always sought appropriate advice from relevant authorities.
“A total of £15,000 was paid without any admission of liability. “The purpose of this approach is to reduce the overall costs that taxpayers may incur due to lengthy legal proceedings, regardless of the outcome.”
The Liberal Democrats demanded Ms Donelan cover the costs herself or take a pay cut.
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: “This is nothing short of a scandal and we still don’t know the full legal costs.
“If Michelle Donelan had any integrity left, she would have paid this bill out of her own pocket rather than asking taxpayers to pick up the bill. If he refuses to do this, Rishi Sunak should cut his salary.
“This news will kick people in the teeth as they see their finances disrupted by the cost of living crisis, while local health services are on their knees.
“This is yet another scandal proving that it is time to sack this immoral Conservative Government completely.”
Shadow science secretary Peter Kyle said Ms Donelan’s actions were “well below what is expected of a minister”.
“It is outrageous that £15,000 of taxpayers’ money was spent on the Science Secretary calling a scientist a terrorist sympathizer on social media, without any evidence,” he said.
“Michelle Donelan should be ashamed, apologize and pay the full amount back to the taxpayer. His behavior is far below what is expected from a minister.
“For a minister to force the taxpayer to foot the legal bill for abusing a scientist online is emblematic of the arrogance and recklessness of the Conservative Government.”
As a result of Ms Donelan’s allegations last year, both Prof Sang and Dr Patel were investigated by UKRI, where they were recently appointed to the advisory group on equality, diversity and inclusion.
The investigation uncovered no evidence that these men expressed extremist views or support for Hamas or violated the terms of their appointment.
Jo Grady, general secretary of the University and College Union (UCU), said: “Despite using taxpayers’ money to pay compensation and settle her libel claim, Michelle Donelan has failed to genuinely apologize to those she falsely accused and attacked, or for the damage done to the academic community.”
“The fact that he withdrew his allegations after a long legal process makes the situation even worse.
“These are not actions taken by someone who is interested in our industry in good faith.
“As the union representing academics we are forced to conclude that Ms Donelan’s position is untenable.
“It fails to maintain the trust of the academic community nor does it promote standards of good professional conduct. He needs to resign.”