As an emeritus professor at Queen Mary University of London, I write in response to your article “Dismissed: scholar who criticised use of metrics to determine job cuts” (News, 7 August) to point out that this is yet a further downward step in the re(de)structuring of biological and chemical sciences using a strategy of brutal mismanagement that totally ignores the employer’s duty of care and is oblivious of moderating outside opinion.
Prior to John Allen’s appeal, Simon Gaskell, the university principal, received a letter signed by Nobel laureates and fellows of the Royal Society asking for the dismissal to be reversed. This was disregarded. Absence of any internal objections to Allen’s dismissal indicates that his colleagues are fearful for their jobs while some even had the mendacity to appear as tools of management at the dismissal hearings.
Allen came to Queen Mary with a Wolfson Research Merit Award and continued to be highly productive. To wantonly extinguish such a distinguished career beggars belief.
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