Donelan asked to explain secret dossier on academics after libel case

Michelle Donelan faces increasing questions over whether she received legal sign-off to publicly share a letter that resulted in a libel case, as Labour demanded answers to “reassure the public”.

i revealed earlier this week that the taxpayer footed a £15,000 compensation bill on behalf of Ms Donelan after the Science Secretary falsely accused two academics of holding “extremist” views.

In a letter to the head of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) in October, the Science Secretary falsely accused two academics on an advisory group of the national funding research body of supporting Hamas and called for them to be suspended.

UKRI cleared the two academics of any wrongdoing following an independent investigation and has invited them to resume their roles on its advisory board.

The Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT) said earlier this week that Ms Donelan did not have to pay the £15,000 sum herself since the letter was sent in her ministerial capacity and was signed off by Government lawyers.

However, the department is still refusing to confirm whether she received the green light to share the letter publicly.

DSIT declined to comment when asked repeatedly by i whether Ms Donelan received the go-ahead from Government lawyers to post the letter to her 38,000 followers on X, which resulted in the libel case.

Peter Kyle, the shadow Science Secretary, has now written to Ms Donelan demanding she provide answers to crucial questions and give a statement in the House of Commons.

“Given the public interest in this case and that it seems such a departure from standard practice, I believe there are a number of questions that need to be answered to reassure the public that this was an appropriate use of taxpayers’ money,” he said in the letter.

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Mr Kyle called on the Science Secretary to disclose whether civil servants or legal advisers were “involved in drafting or advising on the content” of her post on X.

He also urged her to explain the existence of an 11-page dossier on one of the academics cataloguing three years’ worth of her social media posts, first revealed by i last year.

Ms Donelan ordered her special advisers to draw up a secret dossier on the academic’s social media posts supporting transgender rights, Black Lives Matter, lecturer strikes and criticisms of No 10.

The internal Government document, seen by i, is split into three chapters – “anti-racism”, “transgender advocacy”, and “militant leftist” – and catalogues the academic’s posts on X, alongside her likes, retweets, academic literature and upcoming events.

It claims that a post on X from 2020 that the academic had retweeted saying “happy trans day of visibility!” is an example of “transgender advocacy”. The document also claims a separate post she retweeted from 2021 showing “solidarity with my striking colleagues” is an example of “militant leftism”.

Mr Kyle also called on Ms Donelan to explain whether the £15,000 sum footed by the taxpayer was “the cost of legal fees overall”.

Government sources told i it was the “full and final amount” and had already been paid out, but refused to disclose a breakdown of damages and legal fees, or details of when the payment was made.

Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats have called on Ms Donelan to repay the sum. Sir Keir Starmer said on Thursday it was “totally insulting” the public had to foot the bill when “people are really struggling to pay their bills, and the Government says ‘We can’t afford to help you any more’”.

The shadow Science Secretary said it was “hard to justify the use of taxpayers’ money to pay damages”, adding: “I would urge you to repay the money instead of making taxpayers foot the bill for your mistake.”

He also called on Ms Donelan to “come to Parliament and give a statement on Monday”.

Ms Donelan issued a statement on Tuesday retracting her false allegations and saying she was “pleased to be able to withdraw my original concerns”. She has not yet apologised for the saga or commented on revelations that the taxpayer covered the £15,000 compensation bill.

DSIT declined to comment.