The University of Salford confirmed that it had reached the
settlement with Dr Tom McMaster. "The University has reached a
settlement with Dr McMaster and we cannot comment further on this
matter," said a spokeswoman.
Press reports have suggested that the University will face a
further £100,000 in legal bills but the spokeswoman could not
confirm that.
McMaster attended a conference in Galway and received permission
from the university to sail his boat there from Liverpool instead
of flying. He submitted a £180 expenses claim, which was
rejected.
When McMaster followed up on the issue with the university's
finance director, Ray Corner, Corner replied that "clearly the
original claim was an attempted fraud and appropriately rejected.
Those who submitted and certified it should be ashamed of
themselves."
Corner included McMaster's four colleagues in the university
business school in the reply, which opened the way for a libel
claim.
McMaster told the Daily Telegraph newspaper that he had written
back to Corner asking him to apologise but only when the
allegations were repeated did he take legal action.
The High Court refused the university's application to have the
case struck out as frivolous and the university settled the
claim.
"I imagine this will have cost the university about £100,000,
including legal fees. But I would have settled for a simple
apology. I used to love my work," McMaster told the Telegraph.
