Thread by @JosephineCumbo

BREAKING: Professor Jane Hutton, #USS whistleblower, has been fired from her role as non-executive director of the #USS trustee board.

More to follow.

On the sacking of Jane Hutton from the #USS Board, here's what I understand:

- Sir David Eastwood, chair of the #USS trustee board, conveyed news to Prof Hutton today;
- "Material breaches of obligations" cited as reason for her role as non-exec director being terminated.

- The decision to sack Prof Hutton was made by #USS trustee board and was unanimous. The board is made up of university employer & union representatives.
Prof Hutton was appointed to the board by the University and College Union.

- The Board's decision will be conveyed to heads of university institutions today
- The decision followed an investigation by legal firm Slaughter & May into Prof Hutton's role on the #USS Board.
- The full report into the investigation has been kept secret from members.

Prof Hutton was suspended from the #USS Board in June, after she had made whisteblowing complaints to several regulators about the Board's handling of the 2017 valuation, which estimated a £7.5bn funding deficit.

Prof Hutton raised concerns the deficit had been exaggerated.

Reacting to the news that her role as non exec director of the #USS Trustee Board had been terminated, Prof Hutton said:

“I don’t accept the validity of the report or the process used and I will be taking action.”

#USS has been contacted for comment.

BREAKING:

#USS statement on the termination of Prof Jane Hutton from the trustee board.

uss.co.uk/news/all-news/…

In a statement, USS said a "thorough and independent external investigation conducted by leading law firm Slaughter and May identified breaches of Prof Hutton's duties as a director under company law and contract."

USS said the Board unanimously concluded that terminating her role on the Board was "the best course of action in the interests of the scheme as a whole".

#USS said that #UCU was offered, but did not take up, the opportunity to review the legal report into Jane Hutton.

However, "UCU did not make any representations to the Board about the report’s findings".

Jane Hutton was a #UCU appointed member of the #USS Board.

USS said following its probe, Slaughter and May made recommendations, some of which concerned "potential improvements to policies and procedures".

#USS did not say if this referred to the Board but said the Board was "actively considering the recommendations in this regard."

I asked #USS to confirm whether Slaughter & May made recommendations relating to the Board. Prof Hutton has raised concerns about the Board to regulators.

USS said it was "not in a position to provide any more information than provided" here uss.co.uk/news/all-news/…

The Slaughter & May report, detailing the findings against Prof Hutton and the USS trustee board, has been kept secret from #USS members, employers and the wider public.

#USS said all USS directors had the opportunity to access the full report on the same terms, but these opportunities were, however, declined by Prof Hutton, along with the opportunity to suggest changes to arrangements which would make them more convenient and acceptable to her.

The investigation into Prof Hutton's conduct on the #USS Board was triggered following whistleblower complaints she had made to regulators about the Board.

The USS Board described the investigation as independent

The Board commissioned Slaughter & May to undertake the probe.

BREAKING: UCU has issued a statement on Prof Hutton's sacking from the #USS trustee board.

UCU said it had "concerns about how the process to remove Jane Hutton from the Universities Superannuation Scheme had been conducted."

UCU is calling on the #USS to release its evidence for removing her, the union said Hutton deserved the support of USS members for her attempts to highlight serious issues about governance and the pension scheme’s valuation.

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: "We are extremely disappointed at the decision by USS to remove Jane Hutton from the board. Jane deserves the support of all USS members for the stand that she has taken. "

UCU said Jane Hutton was not given proper access to all the evidence used against her, nor afforded the opportunity to appear before the board to put her case. "We now call on USS to release the evidence in full for us all to study."

UPDATED STATEMENT FROM PROF JANE HUTTON:

"I do not accept the validity of either the process or the decision. I will be taking a number of actions to address the process, the decisions, and the accuracy of the assumptions and modeling which underlie the 2017 & 2018 valuations."

UCU has responded to questions on why its member-appointed reps on the #UCU trustee board voted to sack Prof Hutton, a fellow #UCU rep

UCU said the board members had seen all the evidence and "we call on USS to release that evidence in full so all scheme members can consider it"

UCU has issued a further statement in response to a statement by #USS that the union did not take up an opportunity to review the report which formed the basis of today's sacking of Prof Jane Hutton.

Statement to follow:

UCU said it did not review the report because the access conditions required by USS were "totally unreasonable and could not have been agreed to by any democratic organisation committed to accountability and transparency. The USS should now release the evidence in full."