The Open University has apologised and promised to conduct a “major independent review” of its internal working environment after a judge ruled that it failed to protect a scholar with gender-critical views.
Speaking after an employment tribunal found Jo Phoenix, a former professor of criminology at the OU, was forced to quit because of the “hostile environment” at the institution, Tim Blackman, the university’s vice-chancellor, admitted the 155-page judgment “made difficult reading for all of us” and “in several areas we fell very short”.
It is understood the university will not be appealing against the tribunal’s ruling.
“We apologise unreservedly to Professor Phoenix for the hurt and distress this has caused,” Professor Blackman said. “This is not The Open University we want to be.”
