EXCLUSIVE
A group of Oxford dons exchanged poisonous emails bitterly attacking the head of the university’s grandest college in a ‘disgraceful’ campaign to oust him, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
In the damning correspondence, which the academics tried desperately to ban this newspaper from publishing, the dean of Christ Church, the Very Rev Martyn Percy, is described as ‘thick’, ‘nasty’ and a ‘manipulative little turd’ with a ‘personality disorder’.
In one astonishing exchange, a don says of Dr Percy: ‘I’m always ready to think the worst of him. Does anyone know any good poisoners?’
Ousted; A ‘disgraceful’ campaign was launched to oust the Very Rev Martyn Percy
This prompts a colleague to daydream about ‘the Inspector Morse episode we could make when his wrinkly withered little body’ is found in the Thames.
Elsewhere one of the plotters calls him a ‘little Hitler’.
The emails, which have been kept under wraps until now, lay bare the toxic nature of the three-year feud between Dr Percy and his enemies and they are expected to feature in a forthcoming employment tribunal case.
In it, the 57-year-old dean will claim damages as a whistleblower from the college he still leads.
Supporters say the campaign against Dr Percy was a response to his efforts to modernise the running of the 500-year-old college.
It is understood he raised concerns about safeguarding issues and vowed to open up admissions to more state school pupils.
His opponents deny his reform agenda was to blame for the feud and say it started when Christ Church appointed a new director who was believed to be paid a higher salary than the dean.
Feud: The row broke out in the wake of a new director being appointed on a higher salary than the dean
Some of the emails are quoted in a letter from former Tory Cabinet Minister and Christ Church alumnus Jonathan Aitken to Oxford University chancellor Lord Patten, the former Hong Kong governor.
In the letter, Mr Aitken calls the emails ‘staggeringly offensive’, says he understands they will be publicly aired at the tribunal and warns they will cause the university ‘severe reputational damage’. It is understood Dr Percy will claim he was victimised and ostracised.
The college reportedly used about £2 million of charitable funds on an ill-fated internal tribunal action against Dr Percy last year and spent thousands more in legal fees last week when it threatened The Mail on Sunday with an injunction.
Mr Aitken describes the tribunal case, which opens tomorrow with a preliminary hearing, as an ‘explosive train wreck’ and a ‘public relations disaster’, and he urges Lord Patten to try to end the dispute between the two sides.
Before quoting a selection of messages, Mr Aitken warns Lord Patten: ‘You will immediately recognise the potential for volcanic eruptions in the national media as I now provide you with one or two trailers from this horror movie… These are not merely embarrassing, they are awful. It is little wonder that [Dr Percy’s opponents] are seeking to prevent their… colleagues from seeing the nature of the battle in which they were engaged.’
With assets of £550 million, Christ Church, founded by Henry VIII in 1546, is one of Oxford’s richest and most prestigious colleges.
Alumni include 13 Prime Ministers, ten Chancellors of the Exchequer and Albert Einstein.
Dr Percy’s opponents make their intentions clear in the correspondence. ‘Please, please… get rid of him,’ implores one don. Another agrees, saying: ‘Nasty and stupid… He’s got to go.’
The authors, says Mr Aitken, are ‘hitherto respected college and university academics’. He accuses them of ‘disgraceful’ conduct.
In 2018, Dr Percy’s enemies tried to have him sacked, and persuaded the college to suspend him, claiming he was guilty of ‘behaviour of an immoral, scandalous or disgraceful nature’ in a dispute over his £90,000 salary.
Exonerated: The college has refused to reimburse Dr Percy of his £400,000 legal fees in the wake of the findings of an internal tribunal
He refused to resign and fought the claims at an 11-day internal tribunal held last June, after which retired High Court judge Sir Andrew Smith rejected 27 separate charges.
Despite Dr Percy’s exoneration, the college has refused to reimburse his £400,000 legal fees and, says Mr Aitken, his enemies are conducting ‘guerrilla warfare’ against him.
It was at last year’s tribunal that the emails first emerged.
However, both the emails, and sections of Sir Andrew’s tribunal judgment that quote them, have been suppressed, even from most of Christ Church’s Governing Body.
In a statement, the Governing Body said: ‘We can confirm that we are in receipt of two employment tribunal claims from the dean of Christ Church.
‘We are all too conscious that what began as a request for a sizeable salary increase by the dean has led, over the last two years, to significantly heightened tensions between him and an overwhelming majority of the Governing Body.
‘We take our responsibilities towards all members of our community very seriously, and believe we have acted in the best interests of Christ Church, including its students and staff.
‘Christ Church expects members to show respect towards one another at all times, but equally we acknowledge that individuals are entitled to their personal opinions.
‘Frustrations conveyed about – but not to – the dean, exacerbated by the dispute over his pay, were in the past expressed in some private emails.
‘However, mediation with the dean, funded by Christ Church, resumed in November 2019 and is now ongoing. We very much hope that we can find a way forward through this process, and avoid considerable further cost.’