Provost chased down Gordon Street

In an extraordinary scene, Malcolm Grant was pursued along Gordon Street on Wednesday by UCL staff and Union leadership.

Gordon Street Malcolm Grant Provost ucl UCU

 

On Wednesday afternoon, UCL Provost Malcolm Grant was chased down Gordon Street by UCL ISD staff members and a leading member of the University and College Union, which represents the staff of the university. 

When confronted by the Union reps, the Provost engaged in conversation. He appeared calm and continued to walk along Gordon Street near to the Christopher Ingold Building before crossing the road towards the main UCL site.

 Tony Brown the UCU Branch President who led the group explains that they were unsuccessful in getting the answers they wanted from the Provost and outlines the group’s intended course of action.

In a subsequent interview for The Buzz, Tony Brown admitted that whilst not answering all their questions, the Provost had been "polite”.

The staff members alongside Tony Brown when they confronted the Provost were ISD staff concerned about the effects of outsourcing and the introduction of Smart-IT.

When asked about his motivation for chasing the Provost, Tony Brown stated that he wanted to illustrate that opposition to the changes to ISD did not just come from “a few, mouthy, Left, activist reps.” However he described initially seeing the Provost as “pure chance”.

Brown went on to threaten strike action if ISD staff were faced with any compulsory redundancies.

The Provost had earlier in the year faced a No-Confidence referendum proposed by the UCLU but students voted in his favour 1699 to 1185.