Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.An investigation into the expenses claimed by a jet-setting university vice-chancellor involved "errors of judgement", the Government's public spending watchdog said yesterday.
The National Audit Office found that Portsmouth University had not complied with good practice in its handling of allegations against Neil Merritt, who resigned as vice-chancellor in December, 1994. The university had incurred "significant costs" during its investigation, launched in 1993, including around pounds 140,000 for an independent inquiry. The NAO said there was no evidence that anyone involved in handling the investigation had acted improperly, but it believed the university's audit committee had misjudged the seriousness of the vice-chancellor's actions because they did not involve the theft or the loss of university funds. It recommended that other universities learn lessons from Portsmouth's experience in setting procedures on handling misconduct for senior staff. It also called for the Department for Education and Employment to offer more guidance on the duties and responsibilities of governing bodies. Lucy Ward
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments