King’s lecturer ‘apologises wholeheartedly’ for offence caused by Trump tweet

Last week Dr Adam Perkins tweeted that Trump’s ban makes sense in human capital terms. Student objections to the tweet sparked debate on how to balance two equal necessities in life at King’s: preserving academic freedom and welcoming a diverse university population.

A spokesperson from King’s College London said: “King’s is aware of recent posts on social media by Dr Adam Perkins which have offended some members of our community.  We value and uphold the principle of academic freedom, however we are equally committed to welcoming a diverse and inclusive staff and student population.  The Executive Dean of Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience has spoken to Dr Perkins who has apologised wholeheartedly for any offence caused.”

Dr Perkins has also apologised to the KCL Intersectional Feminist Society:

‘I would like to apologise for any offence caused by my recent social media posts concerning use of the words ‘human capital’ and my discussion of Swedish government data. It was not my intention to cause offence and my posts were part of an ongoing effort to understand disadvantage. Research on individual differences variables, such as personality, inevitably entails addressing sensitive topics and scientists should be at liberty to address challenging scientific questions. I now realise that such discussions of data need to be conducted with extra care and contest.’