Donelan scandal: Lib Dems demand ethics advisor probe and Science Minister to step aside whilst investigation ongoing

EMBARGO: Immediate Release

The Liberal Democrats have written to the Ethics Advisor to demand an investigation into whether Science Minister Michelle Donelan broke the Ministerial Code.

The party has also said that Michelle Donelan should step down from her role whilst the investigation takes place, and Rishi Sunak should sack her if it turns out she has breached the Code.

It comes as it has been revealed that Donelan’s Department used £15,000 of taxpayers’ money to cover damages paid to Prof Kate Sang, although the full potential legal costs related to the case have not been published.

In the letter, the Liberal Democrats say that the lack of transparency over costs to the taxpayer could amount to a breach of the Code, which requires ministers to be “as open as possible with Parliament and the public, refusing to provide information only when disclosure would not be in the public interest.”

Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office spokesperson, Christine Jardine MP said:

“Rishi Sunak needs to launch an Ethics Advisor investigation into this mess immediately so that the public can get the answers that they deserve, and Michelle Donelan should step aside while this is ongoing.

“The public is rightly furious that they have been forced to foot the bill for Michelle Donelan’s actions. They deserve full transparency from the government and whether any rules were broken.

“If Michelle Donelan is found to have broken the code she should resign, and if she does not have the decency to do that then Sunak must sack her.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors: 

The letter sent to the Ethics Advisor by Christine Jardine MP:

Dear Sir Laurie Magnus,

I am writing to urge you to launch an investigation into whether Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Michelle Donelan has breached the ministerial code.

It was recently confirmed by Ms Donelan’s department that £15,000 of taxpayers’ money was used to pay legal costs related to a libel case launched by Professor Kate Sang of Heriot-Watt University. This libel action was launched after the minister posted a letter on X which she had written to UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) in October, expressing "disgust and outrage" that Prof Sang had "shared extremist views" and alleging she had expressed sympathy for Hamas. An investigation by UKRI subsequently exonerated Prof Sang, finding that there was “no evidence” that the social media post expressed any kind of extremist views.

Initially, the department refused to disclose how much money was paid out in legal costs related to this case, despite the clear public interest case in doing so. Even now, the department has refused to be fully transparent about the legal costs involved and how much has been paid for through public funds. This would appear to be a clear breach of the Ministerial Code, under which government ministers are required to be as “open as possible with Parliament and the public, refusing to provide information only when disclosure would not be in the public interest.” 

In addition, the Code states that “Ministers must not use government resources for party political purposes,” and that “Official facilities and resources may not be used for the dissemination of material which is essentially party political.” It is therefore crucial to establish whether the post in question on X by Michelle Donelan was made in a party political capacity or in her official role as Secretary of State. If it was party political, this would appear to amount to yet another breach of the Code.

Finally, the Code states that Ministers should consult the Law Officers in good time if they become involved in legal proceedings including defamation. Again, it is important to clarify when exactly the Secretary of State did consult with Law Officers in this case and what advice she received.

Given the seriousness of this case and the questions it raises, I urge you to investigate this matter and determine whether or not a breach of the Code has been committed by the Secretary of State. 

Rishi Sunak promised when he became Prime Minister would “have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level.” This case yet again suggests those ideals are not being met. In your role as Independent Adviser on Ministers Interests, I hope you agree the public deserve to know exactly what happened and why it appears the standards expected of ministers have not been upheld.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Christine Jardine

Liberal Democrat Cabinet Office spokesperson and MP for Edinburgh West