“One day on and feeling amazed. A brand new working group, with just one research note to its credit (which makes no mention of the word Assad) hits the front page of The Times. What on earth could explain this extraordinary impact?”
Professor Tim Hayward — Edinburgh (April 15 2018)
“The front page of The Times was a hatchet job on me and other colleagues who are against intervention.”
Dr Tara McCormack — International relations lecturer at Leicester University
“A small number of people working in UK academia have been willing to question & critically examine the prevailing narrative on Syria. This is how the disgusting rag The Times has reported it, a full on McCarthyite witch hunt at the exact moment that the UK is illegally bombing.”
Louis Allday — PhD candidate at SOAS and History/Arabic specialist
“We recognise and uphold the fundamental importance of freedom of expression, and seek to foster a culture that enables it to take place within a framework of mutual respect.”
University of Edinburgh spokesperson
Professor Tim Hayward — Edinburgh
April 16 2018 — Members of the working group have so far published just one item, a research note on the poisoning of the Skripals in Salisbury. Although still work in progress, the piece, Update to briefing note “Doubts about Novichoks” has been well-received by academics and serious commentators.
It has been singled out by Cornell University’s Professor of Organic Chemistry, David B Collum, as the most definitive work on the novichok nerve agent scandal. Intel Today posted the piece under the title: ” Did a “Novichok” programme ever exist?”
According to the Times, the group is “spreading pro-Assad disinformation”. Professor Tim Hayward responds to the allegations made against him and his colleagues. Follow us on Twitter: @Intel_Today Continue reading
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