She said:

“In relation to the events at the February Court meeting, I completely accept that it was badly managed. However, the most important thing is that I accept that I should not have voted on the motion that was put to Court. I made a mistake. I am sorry. You may rest assured that I will never make a mistake like that again.

“In relation to governance of senior remuneration, HEFCE is clear that our processes comply with the basic national guidelines but it is also clear that we should be expecting to do much more to be transparent about these remuneration processes and that some aspects of the process should change. I must be clear that, as VC, I do not determine these processes - this is a matter of governance and lies with Council. However, what I can say is that I will be doing everything in my power to ensure that Council does respond positively to the recommendations for change made by HEFCE. Indeed, as you know, at my request, Council have already agreed that I should not be a member of the Remuneration Committee in future. It is a small but important signal that the University is ready to be responsive. Frankly, I think the University as a whole must now come together to shape a transparent and justifiable way to set senior pay.

“This leads to my third point - Senate should have a recognised role in this process of change. We will have the independent review of Council that the University Secretary has described. It is important that Senate members and Senate as a body is heard in that review. I would like to see that engagement initiated now and progress can be reported back to the next meeting of Senate in February. Senate needs to be in a position to judge whether the messages about transparency and fairness are being heard. I hope to be able to help to ensure that happens. Personally, I would like to see a wider range of our community involved.”