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Edinburgh University students were “interrogated” by police at their desks over posters featuring Palestinians killed by the Israeli military, prompting dozens to complain.
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The boss of the University of Edinburgh is facing calls to “come clean” over earnings from a second job, amid staff strikes and mounting redundancies.
Edinburgh principal Sir Peter Mathieson joined the board of Roslin Cell Therapies (Roslin CT) – a biotechnology company with historic ties to the university – in June 2024.
Staff described the move as a “slap in the face” when it was revealed by The Ferret in March, saying it was wrong for the principal to take on a second role while jobs are at risk. Edinburgh has announced plans to slash £140m from its budget – which unions say could cost up to 1,800 jobs.
New accounts published by Roslin CT this week show that its seven directors were paid a combined £566,000 last year, over £200,000 more than in 2023.
They do not confirm how much Mathieson received, but any earnings through the role would be on top of one of the biggest salaries in Scottish higher education, worth more than £400,000.
Despite a direct question from The Ferret, the university refused to say if or how much he was paid to be on the Roslin CT board, calling it a “matter for the company”. It added the role is carried out in Mathieson’s “personal time” and supports “life-saving” work by the company.
But staff – who are on the final day of a five-day strike – have called for transparency over what his outside earnings.
Paul Dobson
Meanwhile the Scottish Conservative MSP, Miles Briggs said Mathieson “topping up his income behind closed doors” would send the “worst possible message to staff and students fighting to protect jobs and standards”.
Briggs – a member of the Scottish Parliament’s education committee – accused Mathieson of “detached, arrogant leadership” and said he “must come clean” about any money earned from the role.
In February, Mathieson announced that the university was seeking £140m of cuts to its budget because it was facing future deficits and must reduce spending, particularly on staff.
But he faced anger when it was revealed he had accepted a 2.5 per cent pay rise the previous month. When grilled on the size of his salary by MSPs at Holyrood in June, Mathieson admitted he did “not know the exact figure”.
About 350 staff at Edinburgh have already accepted voluntary redundancy – and another voluntary scheme was announced last month – but compulsory job cuts have not been ruled out.
The University and College Union (UCU) has criticised the scale of the proposed cuts, calling them “unprecedented“. It has pointed out that, unlike other Scottish universities which have faced cash problems, Edinburgh is basing cuts on projected future shortfalls, not current losses. The UCU claims the university’s significant financial reserves could be used to ward off redundancies.
Roslin CT is a commercial spin-off of the university’s Roslin Institute, famed for the cloning of Dolly the Sheep. It was established in 2006 to apply this research to the development of human medicines.
The University of Edinburgh was a major shareholder in Roslin CT until December 2021 when it sold its stake to a private equity firm for £38m.
This lack of transparency is systemic and really needs to be addressed.
Sophia Woodman, UCU Edinburgh
Sophia Woodman, the president of the UCU branch at the University of Edinburgh, called for Mathieson to be “transparent” about what he’s paid for the outside role.
At a time when our staff are suffering from job cuts and more underway I think it’s outrageous that we don’t have clarity on this kind of thing and that such a person receiving such high pay should not disclose what they are earning at a university spin off,” Woodman told The Ferret.
In his register of interests with the Scottish Funding Council – where he also sits on the board – Mathieson declared the Roslin CT role as a “non-financial interest”, suggesting it might not be paid.
But Woodman says this adds to confusion around the position – particularly as Mathieson has not denied receiving payment.
“This lack of transparency is systemic and really needs to be addressed,” Woodman claimed. She says the university has also not been forthcoming with financial information which would help the union scrutinise the planned cuts.
Lorna Slater, the Scottish Greens MSP for the Lothian region, argued that “running a university in crisis needs a full focus”. With “so much uncertainty”, staff and students deserve “full transparency” from senior management, she added.
The University of Edinburgh told The Ferret any payments made by Roslin CT are “a matter for the company.”
It added that Mathieson – who has a background in medicine – “supports Roslin CT’s significant endeavour to bring life-saving therapies to patients worldwide, and any work undertaken as part of this is carried out in his personal time”.
The university argues the whole UK higher education sector is facing “serious and urgent challenges” and claims it has always been up front with staff about the financial situation.
Main image: Aniruddha Chatterjee/iStock
Hundreds of protected areas are under pressure from Scotland’s massive deer herd. Most agree deer numbers must be controlled to protect the environment, but are split on what should be done.
Edinburgh University students were “interrogated” by police at their desks over posters featuring Palestinians killed by the Israeli military, prompting dozens to complain.
Unsafe levels of faecal bacteria were recorded at dozens of Scotland’s best beaches this summer. Swimmers and paddlers could be at risk, but officials insist water quality remains high.
Footage of farmed trout suffocating, haemorrhaging, and being beaten with batons in a slaughterhouse has prompted an official complaint to a government regulator.
