Why Howard Davies had to resign

Besitz Belastet

It is facile to assert that, as a result of an error of judgment - albeit a major one - that an academic institution falls from being "one of Europe's great universities" to having its global reputation "wiped away". This is cheap journalism from a respectable commentator - and only encourages the kind of poisonous discourse that helps no one but the author himself.

Anonymous

Your rhetoric is most convincing.

LSE Alumnus

So glad Davies has gone. The arrogant, self-puffer was trying to use the good will of the institution to fuel his own ego. I stopped going to events because he was using them as a platform for his own glory. Stopped reading the alumni magazine for the same reason. HD never deserved to be Director, and those who appointed him should be ashamed.

anonymous

This article only underscores how cheap tabloid journalism which Nick Cohen has built a career on can attract a lot of attention and solicit a lot of conversation, but lacks any substantive arguments. The reputation of one of the world's top universities will not suddenly evaporate in the air because of one donation.

AB

An appalingly short-sighted and opinionated commentary, making no attempt to appear in any sense balanced or authoritative.

Mr Adequate

Good article, apart from the obvious howler describing LSE as one of Europe's great universities. Unless that was a joke of course...

Andy Gill

But its not just the LSE Nick.

Arab petrodollars have bought influence in many of our universities - which is probably why they are so reluctant to challenge Islamic experience on campus.

It's time for a review of foreign funding of our universities, and an end to the Islamization of higher education in this country.

Derek Pasquill

What about all the other [heavy irony alert] *** great *** British universities which are bankrolled by petrodollars:

Cambridge which pulped a book about Islamic terrorism;

the dreaming minarets of Oxford;

the Iranians at Durham, the Muslim Brotherhood at Exeter.

and so on.

Is there an area of British academia which has not suffered from the Islamic Blight (a version perhaps of Dutch Elm Disease)?

Erica Blair

More proof that the British Government was right to sack Derek Pasquill. Get help Derek.

ps

Why no mention of Tony Blair, who seems to have done very well out of his contacts with dictators in the Middle East?

Baron

the article’s spot on, fish, rotting, head, down just about sums it up, Derek Pasquill observation’s on the target, too, shouldn’t have stopped at just the centres of learning either.

not surprisingly, Erica confirms once more that when it comes to talking to plankton she cannot be bettered.

Hegemony

Howling cliche though it may be,am surprised you didn't mention The Elephant in the room Nick: This is what happens when you commercialise knowledge. Decide that universities have to be bankrolled by the Market and by rich "philanthropists" and you will always get someone ahead of the game,going after that financially lucrative but morally dubious donation. Ask any "Rhodes" scholar ;)