The vice-chancellor of the University of Buckingham in the UK, James Tooley, has been suspended after allegations of an affair with a young woman from Hyderabad. He is reported to have helped her with paying her university fees. The Indian woman claimed in her diary that she had a sexual relationship with the 65-year-old Professor Tooley. These allegations sprang up after the professor’s wife handed over copies of the diaries written by the young woman to the university.
Tooley’s suspension was announced in a letter in October. This has come to light only now.
Tooley, who specialises in education policy, has been the vice-chancellor since 2020, when he succeeded historian Sir Anthony Seldon.
He issued a statement through his lawyer, and called the claims “baseless and malicious” and expressed confidence that he would be “vindicated”. The allegations surfaced after Tooley’s 42-year-old wife, Cynthia, gave over the copies of the diaries written by the young woman.
Cynthia, a Nigerian-born entrepreneur, TV personality and mother-of-two, married Tooley in February 2022. However, the couple parted ways over the summer, and they now communicate through lawyers.
The Times, a UK media outlet, stated that the Indian woman had mentioned that she was 18 when she first met Tooley and their relationship became sexual when she was 21, though she later said that she was 25 when the relationship started.
During this period, the professor was in his fifties, reported the Daily Mail.
The alleged affair started after Tooley got involved in a project in Hyderabad aimed at providing low-cost private schools for poor communities. He is said to have known the woman’s father and contributed to her university tuition fees before their relationship began after she graduated.
“Anyone who reads my diaries can see I was in love with him and wanted to be with him. He was kind and thoughtful and always treated me with respect. People will say he used me because he has power and money. But that’s not the case. He is a good man who cares a lot about other people,” the Indian woman wrote in her diary as quoted by The Times, reported the Daily Mail.
Cynthia Tooley, wife of the suspended Vice-chancellor, alerted the University of Buckingham to the alleged relationship on October 11, prompting an emergency meeting and Tooley’s suspension.
She also made multiple accusations against him, including reporting a “suspicious object” at the vice-chancellor’s residence, which turned out to be a junior air rifle.
University managers announced Tooley’s suspension in October.
“The Vice Chancellor has been suspended following a number of serious allegations… It is our intention to carry out an independent inquiry to ascertain the veracity of these claims,” said the university managers, reported the Daily Mail.
Chief financial officer David Cole, chief administrative officer Chris Payne, and pro vice-chancellor Harriet Dunbar-Morris have been appointed as interim co-heads of the university.
Tooley has been a vocal advocate for free speech and academic freedom and has criticised diversity targets and efforts to decolonise the curriculum.
The University of Buckingham, founded in 1976, is the UK’s oldest private university. Tooley was previously an academic at Newcastle University and holds a PhD from the Institute of Education at the University of London, reported the Daily Mail.
