Modernising Oxford dean is taken ill ‘after dons’ hellish bullying’
IT HAS all the intrigue of an episode of Inspector Morse, but The Mail on Sunday can reveal a real- l i fe drama i nvolving feuding dons and an attempted ‘coup’ at Oxford University.
The bitter row centres on The Very Reverend Professor Martyn Percy, who has taken sick leave and is facing financial ruin after a ‘hellish bullying campaign’ to oust him as Dean of Christ Church college.
It i s claimed the college’s s rebellious academics have been n ‘combing the statutes’ of Christ t Church – founded by Henry VIII I in 1546 – to find legal justifica- tion to get rid of Prof Percy, who h has been tipped as a future Archbishop of Canterbury.
One way the plotters believe they can force him out is through a formal complaint about their pay, which is set by the dean.
That complaint will now be judged by an internal tribunal.
Prof Percy, 56, is also said to have received a stream of legal letters that an insider said risked ‘financially breaking him’ after he was forced to hire his own lawyers. The insider added: ‘So consumed are the dons that the everyday governance of the College has all but ground to a stop. It’s a tragedy, embarrassing and a disgrace.
‘The dean has done nothing wrong apart from upset a number of academics close to retirement.’
Sources close to the dean, a mod- erniser who has spoken in support of gay rights and backs women bishops, believe the animosity has been fuelled by an ‘ anti- clerical feeling’ among some dons who want to reduce the influence of the Church over the college.
It is the only academic institution in the world that has a cathedral.
The insider said: ‘The dean is a reformer but the idea of change has long been a joke at Christ Church and Oxford. He started to make life uncomfortable and now a group of fellows has been plotting to remove him and will stop at nothing to succeed in their aims.’
Prof Percy, who was elected in 2014 and whose wife is the chaplain of Trinity College, has been off work for the past fortnight and was last week at a remote farmhouse in Wales. He declined to comment last night.
The Bishop of Oxford, the Right Reverend Dr Steven Croft, and Christ Church college expressed concern at the crisis.
A spokesman for the bishop said: ‘ Any allegation of bullying is extremely concerning and would need to be followed up by appropriate authorities. The bishop is praying for all those involved.’
A spokesman for Christ Church said: ‘ The Governing Body and Chapter of Christ Church have agreed to set up an internal tribunal with an independent chair in accordance with the college’s statutes. The tribunal will review a formal complaint made against the dean. It would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.’