'A spokesperson for MMU said: "We cannot and do not comment on individual
cases. We have over 4,000 staff and have recently been awarded
Investors in People Gold standard, one of only five universities in the
UK to be awarded this.'

Great - so now we can all rest easy in our sleep. This says it all and just confirms that all MMU is worried about, like most other corporations, is protecting its reputation and silencing any form of criticism, however justified

This story reminds me of a more general trend that friendly Personnel departments of yesteryear have frequently become, overly powerful and spiteful HR monsters. Some of the HR people that I have had the misfortune to meet over the past couple of decades of international business experience are truly nasty, I would even say psychopathic or certainly sadistic driving some unfortunate people to early illness and even death. So much so that the label HR came to mean for those particular departments "Human Remains".

Of course I am not saying that MMU are like this, but they do appear to be overly-zealous and are at risk of harming the good name of this institution.

Lolz

We must not 'wait' to support Ian Parker as one comment suggests. The secrecy imposed by MMU is not about what Ian has done or not (please see MMU UCU branch statement on UCU activists list), it is about casting suspicion and throwing mud at Ian's good name and reputation to try to justify a dictatorial heavy handed and untenable reaction to an expression of dissent from a highly respected academic. There is only one side to this situation and we must support academic freedom, justice and common sense.

If we have got to a point in UK universities where raising concerns with colleagues is a disciplinary offence then we have deteriorated even further than I thought.

If Professor Parker had gone outside the University without exhausting internal procedures then there may have been grounds for action (although whistle blowing protection may have covered that as well) but he didn't.

The violent over-reaction of management leads an outside observer to believe that they have serious misdemeanours to hide or maybe they just want to be rid of a trade union activist. If so they w=should wait a few months till the Government removes any vestige of protection form people who are willing to speak up for and represent their fellow staff.

They should be taught what the word 'refute' means.

The 'Investors in People' gold standard in MMU's case would appear to be fools' gold. It is locally deservedly known as the 'divestors of people' award. For MMU's winning this propaganda coup, staff were treated by management to a box of chocolates each -- after after four years of real wage cuts. The boxes piled up in the administration's offices, seen for the insult that they were. The first investment in people that MMU should make is to treat people -- staff and students alike -- with decency. Their investment in millions of pounds of property development, not to mention their buying a pub, demonstrates MMU management's priorities more clearly than the gold award on the wall.

As a former fellow of MMU and psychologist, I am outraged at the way MMU has disregarded transparency in suspending Ian Parker. MMU's reputation will be forever damaged for its reckless behaviour. Ian Parker must be reinstated and MMU must apologise for its gross attempt to silence a critical voice.

Unfortunately this is not the only academic to be treated in such a way recently. The University of Liverpool has also recently dismissed a tutor for making comments it did not like. See Private Eye, 5 October 2012

You can tell you're dealing with bureaucrats when they show that they think they "refute" something by saying so.

'One letter, signed by 75 academics including Mr Chomsky ...'

It's a long time since Noam Chomsky was a 'Mr' - sloppy reporting!

Another one of those disputes where one side is prevented by law from using the word "bully" and the other seems disinclined to use any other.

Would it not be better to wait until the affair has come to an end so that your report on it can include the text of the original letter, and we will be able to judge for ourselves how intemperate or otherwise Prof Parker's original allegations were?

Who remembers the David Craig affair - Lancaster - 1972-ish? Then a mass campaign by academic staff and students brought the bullying University bosses to heel.

Fascists in the Manchester Metropolitan should be the title!!!!

Unfortunately where people are lacking in people management skills, the only tool in their toolbox tends to be the club.

Methinks they protest too much, thereby giving credence to the rumour that there was something fishy about the appointment.
I went to a red-brick university for my PGCE. in 1976. The professor of the course also had his wife on the payroll.
I attended a lecture by his wife and that was the only time I saw many students stand up and walk out, some within ten minutes of her starting, and even though they had to walk down a central staircase facing her as they went.
It was extremely rude, but then again, she was extremely poor, not knowing what she was talking about.
Nepotism and patronage in this day in age in academia?
P.Carroll