Cover Up at Anglia Ruskin University

University senior management are really good at some things — like evading responsibility for monumental cock-ups (see Dundee University here) or awarding each other big pay rises (see Stirling University here).

And cover-ups.

The home of the cover-up is Oxbridge. We’ll be dealing with massive cover-ups at Oxford and Cambridge Universities shortly. But here, we’ll take a look at another strong performance in our ancient university towns, this time by Anglia Ruskin University (ARU).

Mark Garratt is a member of Anglia Ruskin University’s Executive Board and is Director of Marketing, Communications and Recruitment.

In 2024, Mark Garratt used his personal account to post tweets and ‘likes’ endorsing extremist views, including support for the violent far-right activist Tommy Robinson and approval of the Great Replacement Theory. Bizarrely, these posts appeared alongside tweets promoting ARU events, such as inclusivity and Pride celebrations. Tommy Robinson, or more properly Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon, is currently serving an 18-month prison sentence at HM Prison Woodhill for contempt of court. The Great Replacement Theory alleges a conspiracy to replace white Europeans with non-whites with the complicity of elites and politicians. More examples of Garratt’s Twitter activity are given here.

The University and College Union (UCU) raised the issue in an Open Letter to ARU Governors, alleging “serious failures of management and gross misconduct at the highest levels of our university“. Due to the severity of the allegations, ARU’s UCU branch publicly declared that it had no confidence in both the Director of Marketing and the Chief Operating Officer..

The mixing of the private and the institutional in a Twitter/X account is already a massive red flag. The contents of Garratt’s tweets seem at odds with his glowing public description of himself: “He is a campaigner for equality, diversity and inclusion and is an ambassador for AWLO (African Women in Leadership Organisation) and the White Ribbon campaign.”

Garratt’s behaviour is wholly inconsistent with the principles that underpin any university. It is wholly inconsistent with ARU’s written policies, such as the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policy here

Equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) underpins all that we do for those who study and work at ARU and for the communities we serve. We celebrate the diversity of our community and are dedicated to strengthening the sense of belonging for all its members. EDI is a continual process of learning and making conscious steps to improve. Through positive collaboration based on a shared purpose, we will build a more equitable experience for all. [EDI Policy, ARU]

Nonetheless, Mark Garratt remains in post, in a very senior position at ARU. It is unclear if any effective or significant disciplinary action was taken. Certainly, any academic who posted or supported this kind of material would be facing (rightly) serious disciplinary action.

ARU stated: “We take any breaches of our policies seriously, and any allegations are addressed promptly and in accordance with the relevant policies. This matter has been previously raised and investigated. Appropriate action was taken, and we consider the matter to be closed.”, according to the Cambridge Independent.

This is very characteristic of senior management at most UK universities.

They cover up for each other. They protect each other. They bend the rules for each other. They suppress documents for each other. Corruption is so endemic, they regard this as normal. It’s ‘protecting the institution’. After the closing of ranks, we get the parroting of ‘we consider the issue is closed ‘.

The culture at a university is set at the top. It’s set by the Vice Chancellor and the senior management team. It’s vital to have integrity at the top.