Oxford chief racks up £70,000 in expenses

THE head of Oxford University, who said that vice-chancellors have modest salaries compared to footballers, has spent £70,000 on expenses since she was appointed last year, figures show.

Prof Louise Richardson’s air travel has cost £56,522 since she took up the post in Jan 2016. The figures, obtained by Oxford’s student newspaper Cherwell under a freedom of information request, revealed she has claimed almost £10,000 in accommodation costs.

Earlier this year David Palfreyman, the bursar at New College, Oxford, called on universities to end the “gravy train”, as he criticised his own institution over vice-chancellor pay. He criticised the “grossly excessive” salaries of Oxford’s senior management team.

Prof Richardson has also been mocked by Jo Johnson, the Universities Minister, after claiming that vicechancellors are low paid compared to footballers and bankers. Mr Johnson said that she should not be in her job if she wants to be paid like a footballer.

A spokesman for Oxford University said that all expenses were incurred on official university business, adding that her expenses were below that of previous years. “Oxford University generates £5.8billion for the UK economy every year. As part of this, the vicechancellor must travel the world extensively, raising funds, establishing global partnerships and recruiting the academic talent on which Oxford – and the UK – depend,” he said.

“This has always been a core part of the job of vice-chancellor, and Professor Richardson’s predecessors also travelled widely in building the world’s No 1-ranked university.”

The spokesman added that the vicechancellor travels in economy class on short haul flights and usually in standard class for train journeys.