Edinburgh Uni staff are losing their jobs. Their boss has two

The principal of the University of Edinburgh has confirmed he is working a paid second job while overseeing cuts that have seen hundreds of staff leave the institution.

The Ferret reported last year that Sir Peter Mathieson had taken on a role as a non-executive director at Roslin Cell Therapies (CT) – a private company that grew out of the university’s Roslin Institute, where Dolly the Sheep was cloned.

Mathieson took the position in mid-2024, months before announcing the university was seeking £140m of savings which unions believe could put up to 1,800 jobs at risk.

Mathieson and the university did not previously say whether the role was paid, despite questions from The Ferret. In September we revealed that the seven board members at Roslin CT had shared over half a million pounds in pay-outs in 2024.

At the time we reported that story, Mathieson’s register of interest form with the Scottish Funding Council – where he is also a board member – described the role as a “non-financial interest”.

But that document has since been updated to note that it is a remunerated position. Earnings Mathieson makes from the role will supplement one of the biggest pay packets in Scottish higher education, worth more than £400,000 each year.