Examination failure
University of Oxford , Issue 1670 IN A somewhat bewildering pairing, former foreign secretary William Hague teamed up with actress Angelina Jolie in 2012 to launch the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative, which is still going today.

Hague, since ennobled, has continued this laudable campaign, telling an interviewer in 2020 it was the "work of a lifetime to comprehensively deal with sexual violence in conflict" and picking up accolades for his dedication including the Champions for Change Award for Leadership from the International Centre for Research on Women and the Hillary R Clinton Award for Advancing Women in Peace and Security.

However, when confronted with sexual misconduct closer to home – on his watch as chancellor of Oxford University – he has remained strangely silent.

Culture warning
Stephen Kinsella, founder of Law for Change, which supports legal cases in the public interest, wrote to all front-runners in the 2024 chancellorship election warning them of the institution's "church-like" culture around sexual abuse.

In a long email exchange with one of Lord Hague's concerned members of staff, he revealed that the university was dealing with 24 different claims which it had so far suppressed through legal threats and non-disclosure agreements, a secret that "could not last much longer".

Since Hague's admission as the university's 160th chancellor a year ago, that prediction has come to pass, with several high-profile cases coming to light and a growing swell of anger around Oxford's apparent protection of offenders considered academic assets over victims and safeguarding (Eye 1669 et passim).

Missing in action
The university claims it takes concerns seriously, supporting anyone affected and takes action where justified. However, a freedom of information request by Private Eye revealed it had investigated 25 members of staff in relation to sexual misconduct over the past five years. Of those it accounted for, six were not upheld and seven were dismissed, but six were only handed a warning.

The Charity Commission is investigating claims that an emeritus professor was allowed to stay on at Oxford for six years after he had been found to have harassed a student.

Law for Change is currently supporting a junior academic in a judicial review against Thames Valley Police over its decision not to refer an allegation of rape against another Oxford emeritus fellow to the CPS. The university refused to investigate her complaint.

All quiet
The Eye contacted Lord Hague via his private office and his chancellor's office to ask what he was doing to seek assurances that the university understood the need for an urgent review of governance and safeguarding. So far, our email to him at his Oxford address prompted a response from the central press office – and nothing from his private office.

Perhaps we should ask his old mate Angelina to give him a nudge.