Senior Tutor and Master both temporarily step back from Trinity Hall duties

The Master of Trinity Hall, Rev Canon Dr Jeremy Morris, has "voluntarily stepped back" whilst Dr William O'Reilly, the acting Senior Tutor has "withdrawn from his college duties" on a "voluntary basis".

According to a statement released to students today (21st February) and posted on the College website, both Morris and O'Reilly will no longer perform their duties in the interim. The College has set up a panel of "unconflicted Fellows to co-ordinate its response to the issues raised", which will then report to the College's Governing Body at the beginning of March, who are having an additional meeting to discuss the matter.

No time frame for a final decision is mentioned in the statement, however the College is not expected to decide if Morris and O'Reilly will return to their roles without further consulting.

O'Reilly is withdrawing from his role as Senior Tutor, and so is no longer in charge of welfare across the College. In addition, he is stepping down from his teaching and supervising responsibilities. He will no longer be having one-on-one contact with History students. Morris is stepping down as Master.

The Master and Senior Tutor of Trinity Hall have both been under scrutiny after an investigation into how Trinity Hall has handled accusations of sexual assault. The Master allowed the acting Senior Tutor of the college to investigate a sexual assault case within college, whilst the Senior Tutor himself was being investigated for sexual assault.

This is as well as the Senior Tutor acting as a character witness for a student who was accused of sexual assault whilst overseeing the case. The student and Senior Tutor had formed a relationship through them both being members of a dining society.

In the aftermath of the accusations coming to light, the Master deleted his Twitter account. This is the first formal action taken by the Master in response to the investigation.

Photo credits: N Chadwick