We demand the resignations of President Alice Gast and CFO Muir Sanderson, after it was revealed they bullied their subordinates.

In June 2020, an independent investigation into the conduct of the President of Imperial College Alice Gast, and the Chief Financial Officer Muir Sanderson found them guilty of bullying senior members of staff.

Despite Imperial's classification of bullying as 'gross misconduct' that may warrant 'immediate dismissal', both of the perpetrators have kept their jobs, while two of the victims have left the College and the third has taken stress-related sick leave. We firmly believe that bullying must be met with a zero-tolerance policy, which in this case can only mean resignations.

Since the investigation was completed, Imperial has acted in a blatantly opaque manner and has failed to demonstrate to the Imperial community that its culture does not tolerate bullying and harassment:

• The existence of the bullying charges was not revealed until 24th November, when Alex Sobel MP asked the Education Secretary about the government’s response to the report of the investigation.
• A few days before the scandal was reported by the Daily Mail, Imperial changed its longstanding policy on bullying, watering it down significantly; removing passages which refer to bullying as gross misconduct, and introducing a different definition for zero-tolerance that places emphasis only on the investigation of complaints, rather than the consequences of the offence. This differs from common usage.
• Two days before the Daily Mail article’s publication, the College sent out an email which gave no details about the allegations, or the recommendations from the report. The email also praised President Gast’s leadership.
• The Times Higher Education Supplement revealed that the victims signed non-disclosure agreements, which attach a severe financial penalty for telling their side of the story. Two of the victims have left ICL, while a third is on stress-related extended sick leave.
• On the 14th of December, the College released a statement finally admitting that the report found both Gast and Sanderson guilty of bullying, only after the involvement of three news organisations, ICU and a member of Parliament.

Both unions, UCU and ICU, have called for the resignation of the offenders. A digital protest organised by Divest Imperial, calling for resignations and transparency through the release of a redacted version of the report was well attended by students and staff.

Surveys by the Imperial student newspaper Felix also indicate a majority of Imperial students support calls for resignation, and that outrage and anger at the management’s response to the scandal is commonplace in Imperial’s online communities.

While Gast keeps her £554k pa job, it has been revealed that the victims are still living in fear of Gast and Sanderson. Imperial claims that it is committed to fostering a respectful and inclusive working environment. However, we believe that actions speak louder than words, and that the only action suitable here is resignation.

Please sign this petition to add your name to the list of those demanding that Alice Gast and Muir Sanderson must resign from their jobs at Imperial College. We also encourage signatories to write emails to members of College management, expressing their own personal feelings about this. These emails must be read, and they will add up. If you can spare the time, get involved. Instructions can all be found here