{"id":12484,"date":"2017-10-21T18:19:13","date_gmt":"2017-10-21T17:19:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bcpdt.org.uk\/news\/?p=12484"},"modified":"2023-05-30T23:58:25","modified_gmt":"2023-05-30T22:58:25","slug":"oxbridge-failing-to-address-diversity-david-lammy-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bcpdt.org.uk\/news\/2017\/10\/21\/oxbridge-failing-to-address-diversity-david-lammy-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Oxbridge ‘failing to address diversity’, David Lammy says"},"content":{"rendered":"

MP says universities put pressure on journalists to change stories about lack of black students getting places rather than addressing concerns.<\/p>\n

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\"PoweredThis article titled “Oxbridge ‘failing to address diversity’, David Lammy says” was written by Richard Adams, Education editor, for The Guardian on Friday 20th October 2017 18.21 UTC<\/a><\/p>\n

Oxford and Cambridge have been accused of failing to engage in serious debate over their lack of diversity by the former education minister David Lammy, who first highlighted the issue<\/a> with data obtained by freedom of information requests.<\/p>\n

The Labour MP said the universities had been \u201ctrying to make journalists change their stories\u201d rather than address how little progress they were making in recruiting talented students by race, social class and location in England and Wales.<\/p>\n

His accusation came after sparking national controversy over data \u2013 first published in the Guardian \u2013 that showed that as many as 16 Oxbridge colleges failed to offer any places to black British applicants in 2015, the most recent figures under the FOI request.<\/p>\n

On Friday Lammy sent a strongly worded complaint to the vice-chancellors of both Oxford and Cambridge, saying that university staff had been pressuring journalists over data uncovered by the FOI request.<\/p>\n

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As I understand it, @UniofOxford<\/a> Press Office have spent the day trying to reduce the impact of the story, NOT responding to the substance.<\/p>\n

— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) October 20, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n

In a joint letter to Louise Richardson, the Oxford vice-chancellor, and Stephen Toope, Cambridge\u2019s vice-chancellor, Lammy said: \u201cI have been made aware that your press teams have been demanding corrections to stories that are factually correct and accurately refer to the figures provided,\u201d and called on them to investigate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am deeply disappointed that both universities have refused to engage on the substance of the data published and are instead trying to make journalists change their stories.\u201d<\/p>\n