Dr Oliveira posts as ‘TheResearcher‘.
Dr Oliveira has been associated with the University of Cambridge, including as a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics and as a PhD student in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science.
He has publicly raised concerns regarding his treatment, including in The Reporter here.
The 21 Group has reviewed certain aspects of Dr Oliveira’s concerns, including the conduct of individuals within the School of Physical Sciences, and has spoken with a number of relevant witnesses. On the basis of this preliminary review, the Group considers that there is material which appears to support many elements of Dr Oliveira’s account.
A whistleblowing disclosure was submitted to Cambridge University; it is understood that no further action was taken at that stage. In these circumstances, the Group considers that its actions fall within the scope of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998.
In addition, information reviewed by the Group suggests concerns about the handling of multiple grievance cases within the School of Physical Sciences at Cambridge University over a number of years. These concerns are separate from, but overlap with, the matters raised by Dr Oliveira. They add further credence to aspects of his account.
This suggests a serious situation has been negligently allowed to develop at the School of Physical Sciences.
The Group notes that confidentiality in investigative processes is not absolute and may be outweighed where there is a clear public interest — particularly in cases involving potential systemic failings, miscarriages of justice, criminal activity, or risks to health and safety of others. At the same time, such considerations are generally stronger once formal processes have concluded.
If the ongoing investigation into Dr Oliveira’s case were to produce findings indicative of miscarriage of justice, the 21 Group may consider whether further disclosures are appropriate, including to relevant external bodies and MPs, in accordance with applicable law.
31 Comments
Jay · 1 April 2026 at 23:20
If you’re gonna start highlighting individual cases at Cambridge University where there’s been miscarriage of justice, then that’s a full-time job for a team of people 😉
Everything Must Go · 2 April 2026 at 09:44
It’s a full-time job alright. At any normal employer that would be the job of HR and they would fire managers responsible for misconduct instead of protecting and then piling in alongside them. They all must go.
Anon · 2 April 2026 at 09:59
I would encourage all readers to take note of the calm, mature, and reasonable manner in which Dr. Oliveira raised his concerns before the university:
https://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/reporter/2025-26/weekly/6803/section6.shtml#heading2-12
And then to reflect very seriously upon the petty, immature, and thoroughly disrespectful manner in which it has responded to his entirely rational complaints.
This is a culture that erodes decency, kindness and mutual respect among staff. It falls upon the directors of HR and their supporters in the Council to take responsibility for their actions in the appropriate manner.
TheResearcher · 2 April 2026 at 10:28
I hope the 21 Group will not redact this.
It was not the “University” who dismissed without any investigation the whistleblowing disclosure that was made but the Pro-Vice Chancellor Prof. Kamal Munir and following the advice of a conflicted person who now writes “witness statements” against me. The Vice-Chancellor and the Master of my College were cced in the disclosure and also did not act. However, and I find this particularly concerning, Prof. Munir had the courage to tell Mr Daniel Zeichner MP that my health was the priority of “all of us.” The same Prof. Munir tells members of Cambridge to break the silence and report the abuses they experience or witness, that “it’s important that all our staff understand our policies and what is expected of them, including what to do if they receive a report.” But when Prof. Munir received a whistleblowing disclosure, had access to detailed medical records, he did not even conduct an investigation and followed the advice of people he knew were conflicted, people who are involved in many other abuses across the same School.
The culture of secrecy and cover up of misconduct is widespread at Cambridge, and this experience of over 34 months almost broke me. It is very hard to be calm, mature, and reasonable, to quote Anon above, when you tried everything you could and continued to be gaslighted. A few months ago, I considered suicide every single day (https://21percent.org/?p=2837). I refused to accept what I had witnessed and experienced, and I refused to simply leave without helping to address the problem because I know for a fact that what I experienced can happen with others, namely students. There are, however, many people in Cambridge who do not want the problem solved and they will do whatever it takes to silence and break you. They almost broke me because I felt completely isolated against a powerful institution who refused to listen and tried to silence me with an extreme number of “precautionary measures” on the watch of very many people, some of them I had trusted for many years prior to these issues. As I did not let it go, many of those who did not listen or concealed and manipulated information throughout many months now step forward to report on my abusive behaviour and how I hurt their feelings, perhaps with the hope that will make me stop raising my voice, that I will be afraid of further sanctions and that I will simply leave. That will not happen. The “University” may well be able to dismiss staff or expel students who raise their voice against the misconduct that exists in Cambridge and that many simply look the other way, but the “University” does not have the power to silence us. When I realized this fact, I felt better and that gave me energy to persevere. Please consider reporting your experiences at UCam or any other University for that matter to the 21 Group and externally as otherwise things will remain the same and what you experienced can happen with others.
Meanwhile, if you are interested in attending the Discipline Committee meeting against me, it is on Monday 13th April at 13:30, via Microsoft Teams. Please use the link below:
Join: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/311919569704675?p=zMYnVbgA411ChblCmu I already confirmed that I will not participate in this investigation until the questions and issues that I and others have raised for months are addressed. In particular, until Prof. Munir explains why he dismissed, without any investigation, a whistleblowing disclosure and following the advice of a conflicted person, there is nothing that I can add to an investigation that has already the conclusion decided. You will not be surprised to learn that this topic of the whistleblowing disclosure that was dismissed without any investigation was not even covered in the investigation against me.
Horizonte · 2 April 2026 at 19:25
I admire your strength. You are strong. They are weak.
Joiner · 2 April 2026 at 20:12
What are the requirements to join this meeting? Can university members register as witnesses if we know of misconduct involving the same individuals engaged in Dr Oliveira’s treatment?
21percent.org · 2 April 2026 at 20:19
This is a good point
There are multiple people who can give evidence against the individuals responsible for the mistreatment of Dr Oliveira.
- · 2 April 2026 at 20:26
If you had evidence and remained silent how would you live with yourself?
M@shh1t · 2 April 2026 at 22:30
So let it be written, so let it be done
Blood, Running red and strong
Darkness three days long
I come for the rest
utawalabora · 2 April 2026 at 20:45
One day these scandals will be a landmark case study of academic misgovernance and institutionalized corruption that will be remembered for all ages
Blacklisted · 2 April 2026 at 10:29
@Anon
You draw attention to an essential point.
When a university is no longer able to value rational thought or, worse, considers it a threat to its foundations, it surely ought to reconsider its raison d’être.
Veritas · 2 April 2026 at 15:58
A university has as its core mission and mandate the service of the truth. A university that deviates from this mandate has no right to call itself a university.
SPARTACUS · 2 April 2026 at 11:28
Decency has disappeared from UCam. The process started with the now departed Registrary, was made terrible under the Little Canadian Lawyer and is now horrific under the American Queen. The case of Dr Oliveira is not the exception, neither is the School of Physical Sciences! The School of Clinical Medicine is the stage of the worst scandal of all! Litigation in Tribunals and the High Court will reveal the extent of the scandal! Tic toc tic toc tic toc… BOOOOOOM
onlylove · 2 April 2026 at 18:34
It is heartbreaking when you see the human faces of all this suffering and the brilliant people so full of potential who deserve better ❤️
Tina · 2 April 2026 at 20:02
When a university does this to students who cares for details
all we see is an institution failing to foster tomorrow’s beautiful minds
instead a place of darkness and torture
shame on all
TheResearcher · 2 April 2026 at 22:13
There are no requirements to join the meeting as far as I know and I already informed OSCCA and the Disciplinary Committee that I would share the zoom link with others. I already shared the link with the University Council, the General Board and the Proctors, for example. I hope that at least some of them will find this issue concerning. There must be someone who wants to know why a whistleblowing disclosure was dismissed without any investigation following the advice of conflicted people, and that this fact is not even considered in the investigation against the subject of that disclosure. Even though this may sound ridiculous, I am not sure if I am allowed to have witnesses in this case. I was told over and over for many months by multiple people that I could not discuss the investigation against me with anyone, including with my own witnesses, so you should not even know about it. I stop paying attention to their rules because they do not make any rational sense apart from seeking to silence and break you.
There is nothing that the University of Cambridge can do that will compensate what some of its members took from me during these 34 months, and I know for a fact that others went through similar struggles, some of them in the same School by some of the same individuals. These struggles will continue to happen with staff and students if we do not talk, if we accept misconduct or just leave to another place. The individuals who stay and contributed to the abuse will simply jump around between posts, some will become Bursars of colleges, others Senior Tutors, and others even Masters. How can these people be responsible for complaints of students in colleges, for example? Why do they even want that after contributing to the damage of others in their previous functions? I honestly do not know the answer to these and related questions. What I know is that these individuals will most likely continue their misconduct with others if we do not stand up and at least report what happened with us. That is the minimum we can do if we want to prevent that what happened to us happens again with others.
Wyn Evans · 3 April 2026 at 09:14
“There is nothing that the University of Cambridge can do that will compensate what some of its members took from me during these 34 months, and I know for a fact that others went through similar struggles, some of them in the same School by some of the same individuals.”
There is nothing that the University of Cambridge can do that will compensate what some of its members took from me these last 60 months
I am pleased that thIs matter will become public in the forthcoming Employment Tribunal on 1-28 June
The exposure of what has been happening in the School of Physical Sciences is necessary — for the good of the University.
We cannot continue as a world-class university without a great deal more honesty about what has been allowed to happen.
MUSKETEER · 3 April 2026 at 09:43
In the School of Clinical Medicine there is a gigantic scandal that is continuing to damage people for 66 months and counting! Tribunals and Courts will be busy with that! Truth always prevails but suffering is never properly addressed. All of these cases should have never gotten to this in a properly functioning Academic institution! Shame on the oligarchy! Shame on Lord Smith who has decided to do nothing!
21percent.org · 3 April 2026 at 11:07
The 21 Group is well aware of this huge scandal with multiple victims.
As the material is made public following the principles of open justice in the Courts and Tribunals, the issues at hand will not and cannot remain obscured or confined to internal discourse. Transparency now demands accountability, and the weight of documented evidence invites not only scrutiny, but response.
Silence is no longer a neutral position. Those in positions of authority, oversight, and influence are compelled to address the matter directly, with integrity and without delay.
The public nature of the various forthcoming proceedings ensures that any failure to act will be visible, recorded, and judged accordingly.
These are not merely isolated controversies, but raise broader question of governance, responsibility, and ethical conduct that extends beyond individuals to the institution itself.
D'ARTAGNAN · 3 April 2026 at 19:11
Prof Smallman, Prof Teflon, Prof Drinkalot, Prof Crookery, Prof Bullshitmore and Prof ViciousWoman will be finally challenged by lawyers and barristers! It will be a spectacle to behold! Tic toc tic toc tic toc tic toc…
D · 3 April 2026 at 10:01
The university is stuck in an escalation trap of its own making that was entirely avoidable and depressingly predictable
Member · 3 April 2026 at 11:43
It is too good business, though, so even though the order came down to resolve this chaos they pretend they cannot do so…
Anonymous · 3 April 2026 at 13:43
When the dust settles someone will have to answer for why they chose such a policy, and that will involve some searching questions about the incentives of those responsible, and whether or why they placed their own interests above those of the university, whom they were supposed to serve. There was clearly a change of policy under the previous Registrary that has been disastrous, but I wonder if the problem goes far deeper, in a manner that requires rethinking incentives, information channels, procedures and the organisational culture set from the top.
EmmaBasher · 3 April 2026 at 21:25
The previous Registrary has had a baleful effect on the university in almost every regard. She nearly destroyed it financially, she established the pattern of extreme disdain with which senior administrators deal with academics and she initiated or presided over many wrongful investigations. Mean, vindictive and secretive. A highly unpleasant individual. Her appointment was a catastrophe.
TheResearcher · 3 April 2026 at 21:46
“Mean, vindictive and secretive”
Interesting choice of words. I can give you a list of members of Cambridge that match that description. Note that Ms Rampton left in December and the abuses continue. Many people in this institution like this culture and will resist to change.
By the way, do we know who leaked already? (https://www.varsity.co.uk/news/30787) It seems there is an “investigation” happening at the moment and the Council members are asked to be extra secretive, as if it is not obvious who leaked and why.
Aurelius · 3 April 2026 at 23:10
I disagree with this insofar as it is too easy to blame one person. It would be nice to scapegoat one person and pretend everything is now fixed. But the sad history is that this culture predates Emma. In some ways it is not simply that she corrupted the system but that the system corrupted her. That’s important because whoever takes over will just follow the same sad trajectory unless there are real changes to introduce greater transparency and mechanisms of accountability. We design good institutions so that individuals don’t have to be (good).
TheResearcher · 4 April 2026 at 07:47
“whoever takes over will just follow the same sad trajectory unless there are real changes to introduce greater transparency and mechanisms of accountability.”
The person who made the formal complaint against me was the Academic Secretary who is now acting Registry. When I raised the issue that multiple aspects of the Special Ordinance D that he and OSCCA are using against me are being breached they did not even reply. When I raised the issue that the Chair of the Disciplinary Committee has conflicts of interest, this aspect was not even addressed. These issues only surprise those who have never experienced these committees. When in 2024 I appealed against my dismissal, not only the Appeal Committee did not consider the Terms & Conditions of my UKRI Fellowship despite they are bluntly clear, but the Respondent was allowed to change his answers to the questions I had posed him in the formal Appeal meeting, by simply contacting the Chair and telling her that he was very nervous in the meeting. I raised this issue to the Academic Secretary who was responsible for that Appeal, and he never replied. Going to these meetings is a waste of time because the decision is already set before we get into the room for any discussion. If the senior leadership does not find concerning that whistleblowing disclosures and safeguarding referrals are dismissed without any investigation, that bullying, victimization and whistleblowing retaliation has been reported by multiple members recently, and they continue to be reported with high profile tribunal cases are running in the background on the very same issues, then it is not clear how the current leadership will solve the problem.
TheResearcher · 3 April 2026 at 12:34
Please understand that these incidents, namely the extreme “precautionary measures” I have received for many months and the investigation against me regarding my abusive and “unreasonably persistent” behaviour are happening while tribunal and court cases involving the individuals I reported for misconduct are running in the background for cases not related to mine. The Pro-Vice-Chancellor for University Community and Engagement in particular knows about this overlap, knows that several members of the University tried to complain about these individuals namely from the School of Physical Sciences, and he consistently dismisses the complaints, to the point of not even doing an investigation and following the advice of the conflicted people. The same person who will be cross-examined by a King’s Counsel in a few months continues her misconduct and writing witnesses statements against those who reported her behaviour. People need to understand that even the policies that we have such as the “Whistleblowing Policy” or Safeguarding Statements are not being followed. This is not an issue of the School of Physical Sciences, Clinical Medicine or any other in particular but a systemic issue of our university because of the culture of cover up of misconduct that pervades this institution. The senior managers of the University think that the reputation of the institution is more important than the lives of some of its members, and until this issue is addressed seriously and openly, things will remain largely the same.
Students in particular need to know that their complaints will not be addressed properly if they concern the behaviour of senior members, and the consequences of persevering. Testaments such as those in (https://21percent.org/?p=2628) cannot be ignored and they are by very many. Please ask the Head of OSCCA how she explains this statement:
“Over the years I have served on many committees at the university tasked with the miserable job of handling student complaints. You may wonder what happens on such committees to produce such unfortunate results. First, please understand: no complaint was ever taken seriously. As soon as it is handled the immediate discussion centres around how it must be dismissed. The student is immediately presented as “troublemaker” and the fact of their having made a complaint presented as evidence that this must be true. At no point has anyone ever considered whether we are the ones who need to reflect and learn. Second, no evidence is ever taken from any person who raises an issue. Indeed no evidence is ever at all. Any person accused is asked for their account and this is immediately and durably assumed as fact (even if their account of the matter changes over time and is not consistent). We protect our own and the more senior the individual the more protection they deserve. In the most comical episode I can recall, a student had made valid accusations against legal noncompliance. For this reason all mention of their complaint was not included in the agenda. When the chair of the committee turned to raise the issue HR handed out sheets of paper in small print with a highly edited summary of the matter. After the meeting they checked very carefully to ensure that each piece of paper had been handed back. It was agreed by the chair and all those present to exclude any note of having discussed the matter from the minutes. What the discussion agreed was to dismiss their complaint without evidence.”
Anonymous · 3 April 2026 at 17:04
As Musketeer observes, there seem to be a lot of cases going on right now, and it is hard to believe that (at least at the senior level) they do not all involve similar degrees or awareness or negligence (this being the most charitable interpretation, without making any specific allegation). The systemic nature of the concerns raised suggests a quite major problem, and I would take hope from that in your position. Whatever they seek to do to you now will inevitably be reopened later on.
TheResearcher · 3 April 2026 at 21:17
What the “University” seeks to do to me is to expel me as a student. They already dismissed me as staff, did not follow the terms and conditions of my personal UKRI fellowship, mistreated my students, took my research projects, withheld my belongings, and tried to silence and break me for many months with unprecedented “precautionary measures” that included forbidding me from contacting hundreds of people, limiting my @cam account use, screening/reviewing my emails, forbidding me from contacting co-authors of my research, ignoring my questions and complaints regardless the topic, among many other measures that were reviewed by conflicted people. Perhaps the most extraordinary of all the measures against me was trying to decide a priori what I and the Lucasian Professor can discuss in our private meetings to prevent us from discussing what had happened with me in DAMTP and the investigation against me promoted by his colleagues. As none of these measures worked and I keep raising my voice directly challenging the senior leadership, expelling me as a student is their last resort, even though I am a student in a different department that has nothing to do with the abuses. Rest assured because that measure will not limit my ability to speak. If anything, I will speak louder.
Wyn Evans · 4 April 2026 at 08:12
It’s worth pointing out the University behaves really badly towards untenured staff
What was done to me when I intervened in a whistleblowing case was horrendous and I am a UTO. I am looking forward to the matter being made fully public at the Employment Tribunal 1-28 June in the interests of open justice.
However, untenured staff like Dr Oliveira have absolutely no chance.
The full grisly machinery of revenge has been unleashed upon him.
It is a huge scandal and I salute Dr Oliveira ‘s enormous courage and tenacity in speaking out about what was done to him, and continues to be done to him.
In any decent organisation, the people responsible for this would be named and removed from the University.
His treatment should shame every University Teaching Office in Cambridge.