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Padel implicated in smear campaign
The new professor of poetry at Oxford wrote emails to journalists about her rival, Derek Walcott
A week after she was elected Oxford University's professor of poetry, Ruth Padel is now being asked by some of her backers to stand down after it emerged that she may have instigated, albeit unintentionally, the smear campaign to stop her main rival - and favourite - Derek Walcott getting the job.
Walcott, a Nobel prize-winner, pulled out of the race earlier this month after anonymous letters detailing allegations of sexual harassment against him were sent to more than 100 Oxford professors in an attempt to influence the election.
The letters referred to an allegation of sexual harassment - to which he has never publicly admitted - made against Walcott by a Harvard student in 1982.
Padel initially denied having anything to do with the smear campaign against the St Lucia-born poet. Now it has emerged that she sent e-mails to at least two newspapers, drawing attention to Walcott's past.
Among those saying she must resign immediately are the broadcaster Lord (Melvyn) Bragg and the professor of philosophy at Birkbeck, A C Grayling.
Bragg, a former Oxford student himself - he read modern history at Wadham College - said: "Even her mentioning Walcott's past in advance of the election was disgraceful. She should now stand down from the post. A shame, but there it is."
A C Grayling, a former Oxford lecturer who initially backed Padel's campaign, said: "I'm shockingly disappointed that she tipped off people about Walcott's past. Now all the issues should be examined by the authorities at Oxford. This is not all done and dusted simply because there has been a vote already."
In her email tipping off journalists, Padel wrote: "Some [of my] supporters add that what he does for students can be found in a book called The Lecherous Professor, reporting one of his two recorded cases of sexual harassment and that Obama is rumoured to have turned him down for his inauguration poem because of the sexual record. But I don't think that's fair."
She added: "The harassment is all documented on the web." ·
