Swansea University 'catastrophic failure of governance' claim

Prof Clement was cleared of any criminal wrongdoing and said the investigation had affected his health

There has been a "catastrophic failure of governance" at Swansea University, according to a dismissed academic cleared of criminal wrongdoing.

Prof Marc Clement was sacked for gross misconduct, with bribery allegations reported to police.

Detectives told the BBC they sent a file to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) which concluded it was "not in the public interest" to proceed.

The university said its disciplinary investigation was a separate matter.

"The criminal investigation and the university's internal disciplinary processes are and have always been entirely separate," said a Swansea University official.

• Wellness Village at centre of uni bribery probe

• 'No evident criminality' in bribery probe

The allegations were made in relation to a £200m wellness village that was planned in Llanelli.

Police concluded that "the correct procurement guidelines were followed and overseen by specialist law firms".

It is not known whether the CPS made the decision not to proceed because of a lack of sufficient evidence or on different grounds. The service has been asked to comment.

The Wellness and Life Science Village was at the centre of police investigations

Prof Clement welcomed the decision by police, saying that he had not had "a good night's rest" throughout the months of the investigation.

He was accused by Swansea University of being in line to personally profit from the wellness village project.

The former dean of the school of management was dismissed along with a colleague, Steve Poole.

Another member of staff, Bjorn Rodde, resigned from the university.

Swansea University officials had complained to the Serious Fraud Office

The former vice-chancellor Prof Richard Davies was also dismissed for gross misconduct and gross negligence, following a disciplinary process by the university.

Professor Davies was not part of the police investigation.

The four have taken a case against Swansea University to an employment tribunal but it has been delayed due to the police investigation and the Covid pandemic.

The university claimed the dismissals were for "serious breaches of the university's procedures, and not for a finding of criminal conduct" and said the decision by the CPS has "no bearing on this whatsoever".

'Catastrophic failure'

"Swansea University dismissed Marc Clement in July 2019, following a detailed and thorough independent investigation which found evidence that he had significant undeclared interests worth millions of pounds," it added.

Prof Clement said the events showed "a catastrophic failure of governance on behalf of Swansea University, allowing one or a small number of executives to lead the university into this situation and spend enormous amounts of money, public money from a charitable institution, on Europe's most expensive legal advisors, leading to an outcome, where Tarian, the regional Organised Crime Unit, have decided that they don't want to take things further".

He added he was disappointed the wellness village project in Llanelli had stalled.

"My overwhelming emotion is the sadness about the catastrophic loss of opportunity for the people of south-west Wales, who I think are the true victims here. There's been huge injustice," said Prof Clement.

He argued that the project had attracted some of the world's biggest companies including Pfizer and Siemens.

"In the spring of 2021, which is where we now are, there would have been 1000 high added value jobs in Llanelli, an area of deprivation," he added.