Interim head appointed at university after damning report into financial crisis

A new interim principal has been appointed at the University of Dundee less than 24 hours after a damning report prompted his predecessor's resignation.
Professor Nigel Seaton will take on the role on a short-term basis after Professor Shane O'Neill and two other senior officials at the university stepped down on Thursday.
Prof O'Neill's departure was hastened by a report into the financial crisis facing the institution, which is struggling with a £35 million black hole.
The report found management had 'failed' to 'properly respond to the worsening situation'.
It identified Prof O'Neill, former principal Professor Iain Gillespie and ex-chief operating officer Jim McGeorge as a 'triumvirate' at the top of the institution who were believed by other staff to be making 'key university decisions'.
In his resignation statement, Prof O'Neill said it was important for the university to be able to 'move on'.
Prof Seaton – who served as principal and vice-chancellor of Abertay University between 2012 and 2022 – was previously the interim provost at Dundee University before taking the top job.
He said he is 'honoured' to take up the position, adding: 'The university faces considerable challenges in its recovery from a difficult financial position, and from what I know has been a very difficult period for staff.
'I am ready to work with my colleagues and with the university court to set the university on its way to a sustainable and successful future.
'In all this, we should not lose sight of the things that make this university such a great place.
'Prime among those is graduation, and I look forward to playing a part in the ceremonies next week to celebrate the achievements of our wonderful graduates.'
Dr Ian Mair, the deputy chairman of the university court, said he is 'grateful' Prof Seaton is willing to 'lend us stability at this challenging time'.

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Times

44 minutes ago

• Times

What war in the Middle East means for your money

The conflict between Israel and Iran is the latest geopolitical shock set to hamper the outlook for the UK economy — and, ultimately, your bank balance. Since the attacks began on June 12, the price of oil has risen to a six-month high. Hopes for interest rate cuts have been dashed, fears of rising inflation have been amplified, and any respite from stock market turmoil appears to have been short-lived. • Read more money advice and tips on investing from our experts This week the prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, said: 'I'm always concerned about the effect of international issues on people back at home. You saw with Ukraine the direct impact it had on energy bills. Equally, with this conflict, you can see the effect it's having on the economy, particularly on the price of energy.' From petrol prices to pension pots, here's what you need to know: Iran is the third-largest oil producer among the 12 members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), and there are worries about how a wider regional war could affect the transport of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, which accounts for about 25 per cent of seaborne crude oil transportation, according to the consultancy Capital Economics. The price of a barrel of Brent crude hit a six-month high of about $78 after Israeli attacks on Iran began, up from about $65 at the start of this month. That is bound to have a knock-on effect on motorists, said David Oxley from Capital Economics: 'A rough rule of thumb is that a $10 rise in the oil price will add about 7p to the price at the pump.' It normally takes about two weeks for oil prices to feed into pump prices, Oxley said. Motorists have, however, had some recent respite from the cost of living crisis as petrol and diesel prices hit their lowest in almost four years. Petrol cost an average of 132p a litre last month, the lowest since July 2021, while diesel was at 138p, the lowest since September 2021, according to the motoring organisation the RAC. While prices are likely to rise, they are not expected to reach the high of March 2022, when Russia's invasion of Ukraine caused the oil price to reach $127 per barrel. The price in sterling peaked in July of that year at more than £100 with pump prices hitting 192p per litre for petrol and 199p per litre for diesel. More than a million homeowners whose fixed deals come to an end this year may have their hopes of further interest rate cuts dashed. The lowest two-year fix was 3.72 per cent last month, but rates are starting to tick up again, according to the property portal Rightmove. The lowest two-year deal is now 3.82 per cent from Lloyds Bank for those with a Club Lloyds account. The lowest five-year fixed rate has gone from 3.78 per cent to 3.88 per cent, also from Lloyds. Lenders had been cutting mortgage rates to compete for business, but changed tack after inflation went from 2.6 per cent for the year to March to 3.5 per cent in April. This makes cuts to the Bank of England base rate less likely — the Bank generally keeps the rate high when inflation is above its target of 2 per cent. The Consumer Prices Index inflation figure for the year to May, released this week, was 3.4 per cent. Uncertainty around President Trump's trade tariffs and conflict in the Middle East has also dampened hopes of further base rate cuts. The Bank held rates at 4.25 per cent this week, which, although a lot higher than the sub 2 per cent rates many mortgage holders will have fixed at three or five years ago, is down from the peak of 5.25 per cent in August last year. Fixed mortgage rates are based on swap rates (the rates at which banks lend to each other, which are in turn based on forecasts of where Bank rate is expected to be in the future), which have edged up over the past week or so, suggesting that mortgage rates could follow. Homeowners who want certainty can lock in a new deal up to six months before theirs ends yet still swap if a cheaper deal comes along. Rising oil prices could also cause other expenses to creep up, particularly if the Iran conflict continues or escalates. Lotanna Emediegwu, an economics lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University, said that prolonged conflict could drive up energy bills. The price cap that limits how much suppliers can charge customers on standard variable tariffs will work out at an average bill of £1,720 a year for gas and electricity from July 1 (down 7 per cent from today's cap). At the moment analysts expect the cap to go up 2 to 3 per cent in October, but this could change dramatically. He said: 'Until recently, fuel prices had been rising less than other things, so actually mitigating some inflationary pressures. The recent conflict is expected to reverse this trend. 'The financial repercussions extend beyond immediate energy costs into transportation and logistics. Transport expenses are particularly vulnerable to fluctuations in fuel prices. This affects everything from airline fares to shipping costs for products, ultimately hitting consumer prices.' Before June 12, when Israel launched strikes on Iran, inflation had been expected to rise to 3.5 per cent by the autumn — now it could go further. A sustained $10 per barrel rise in the oil price typically pushes up annual inflation by 0.1 to 0.2 percentage points, according to The Economist, meaning that it could be closer to 3.7 per cent by September. Emediegwu said a prolonged blockade of the Strait of Hormuz shipping route could add a further 0.5 to 1 percentage points, which could take it close to 5 per cent. So far the stock market has been fairly resilient to the conflict in the Middle East. The UK's FTSE 100 is down about 0.77 per cent since the turmoil started, while the US's S&P 500 is down about 1.06 per cent. If a sustained conflict leads to an increase in the price of oil, stock valuations may fall — this is because higher oil prices lead to higher inflation, which means interest rates are likely to stay higher for longer, which makes it more expensive for companies to borrow money to grow and often curbs investors' risk appetite. Losers are likely to include airline and travel stocks, as well as so-called growth stocks, which include technology and healthcare companies. Many investors will have exposure to the US 'Magnificent Seven' tech stocks of Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet, Tesla, Amazon, Meta and Nvidia. These companies are often valued on their future earnings potential, which means their stock price can be volatile if company results or wider economic conditions point towards a slowdown of earnings. The good news is that Iran and Israel are a very limited part of the global stock market, so direct exposure for most UK investors will be immaterial. However, Michael Field from the research firm Morningstar said that the risk is that wider markets get jittery about the potential for the conflict to escalate further. Investors should avoid making any kneejerk changes to their portfolio. Ultimately, while geopolitical tensions may create short-term turmoil, historically markets have been resilient in the long term. Jacob Falkencrone from the investment bank Saxo said: 'As an investor, your greatest tool is a disciplined approach — staying informed, remaining calm and focusing on your long-term investment goals rather than reacting impulsively to temporary shocks.'

The Sun

an hour ago

• The Sun

Incredible way to get designer clothes, perfumes and gadgets for less than a tenner

EVERYWHERE I look there are hundreds of suitcases in different colours, shapes and sizes. But I'm not in an airport arrivals lounge and there is no luggage carousel in sight. 5 5 5 Instead, I'm at a suitcase auction at Greasbys in Tooting, South London, where you can buy unclaimed luggage from Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted for a fraction of the price. Luggage usually goes missing when you have a connecting flight with a different airline, as there is a higher chance your belongings could get lost. Six bags went missing for every 1,000 checked in last year, according to aviation data company Sita. If your bag never arrives and you don't tell the airport, it may be passed to an auction house to sell to the highest bidder. Here's how to bag a bargain of your own . . . HOW IT WORKS GREASBYS has been selling lost luggage for more than 50 years. It holds online-only auctions every other Wednesday. Bidders must email their sealed bids before the auction starts. The person who makes the highest offer wins the item. You can go to the actual auction house the day before to check the suitcases and bags — which is what I'm here to do. I'm surprised to discover you can't open the luggage to inspect the actual items. Every bag and suitcase comes with a label describing the contents. You are unlikely to find high-value items inside luggage. I spent £136 to see if the lost luggage trend was worth it - I thought I'd nab designer goodies but it was a total flop Designer clothes, gadgets, bags and shoes are taken out and sold individually. High-street clothes in good condition are also removed, bagged and sold as one lot. There are typically 20 items to a bag, which usually go for at least £10. Most cases sell for between £18 to £60. The airports are sent the profits from sales, after the auction house takes a cut. If you're worried about ending up with someone's dirty smalls, don't be alarmed. Christine Sachett, owner of Greasbys, says: 'The staff go through every suitcase. They also remove more personal items.' ANY BARGAINS? I FIND two children's Tommy Hilfiger coats, one in hot pink and another in navy blue. They retail at £75 each but sell for £10.80. And my eyes widen as I spy a pair of cream Prada Pegasus trainers worth £600 and sold for £40. A pink and ivory scarf from Mulberry is just my style — it sells for £31.50. There are 15 people browsing in Greasbys and many are regulars. 'Some people work and need to supplement their income, some people actually do it for a living,' Christine said. One regular buys suitcases and sells them on his market stall in Portobello Road. SECRET BIDDING TIPS MAKE sure the wheels and zips are intact when buying a suitcase. 'Check the name of the suitcase and research how much it would normally cost you,' Christine said. 'Some of the big holdalls on wheels are nearly £100 to buy, depending on the bag.' Buying suitcases can often be a mixed bag. 'Unless the owner was unlucky and lost their bag on their way out, or they get everything laundered while they are on holiday, you could be buying someone's dirty holiday clothes,' she said. Do not focus on the weight. 'If it is heavy it could mean it is full of cheap clothing,' she said. 'Lighter ones may have really nice clothing inside.' WATCH OUT FOR FEES FEES are added on top of the hammer price. A buyer's premium will be charged, which is 26 per cent of the cost. VAT, 20 per cent, is also added to the premium only. So a £50 item is £65.60. ARE THERE OTHERS? INDEPENDENT auction house Mulberry Bank in Glasgow holds two lost luggage sales a month. Bristol Commercial Valuers and Auctioneers also holds online lost luggage auctions. BEFORE YOU BID GREASBYS does not offer any guarantees or warranties. If there is something wrong with your item, Greasbys won't give you a refund, a replacement, or fix it for you. That means it's a risk buying items locked inside the luggage, as you can't see if they are in good nick. When buying at an auction, Gurpreet Chhokar from consumer site Which? warns you may not benefit from the same protections as with a retailer. She said: 'You might not be able to change your mind and get a refund. 'Check any terms and conditions relating to auction sales carefully.' You may also lose a powerful consumer protection, Section 75, when making payments to the auction house using a credit card, she added. Usually, it allows you to claim money back from your credit card provider if something goes wrong. I PAID £130, THIS IS WHAT WAS INSIDE... SENIOR Fabulous Digital Writer Abigail Wilson bought an unclaimed suitcase from Undelivrd, and here's what she found . . . I WAS intrigued to see if I'd bag exciting treasures. I ordered my case for £129.99 from Undelivrd, a warehouse that sells lost Royal Mail parcels, Amazon return pallets and forgotten baggage. The size and brand of case you get will be random. The contents are also a surprise. When the case arrived, it was wrapped in a bin bag. The case was an American Tourister, which is worth £129, but pretty battered. A mouldy smell hit me before I even unzipped it. Rather than pricey clothes or electricals, the contents left me gutted – smelly socks, worn boxers and dirty hoodies. I was excited when I spotted a White Company toiletry bag. But then I realised it's a freebie you get on long-haul BA flights. A pair of leather shoes from Asda, £25 if bought new, was the only decent thing I found. I totted up the cost of the contents and was surprised to see that, when bought new, the items would come to £223.98. If you include the cost of the case, it added up to just over £350. But it was nothing near what I had hoped for, so it really is a lucky dip when ordering lost luggage online. I GOT FREEBIES WORTH £62 IN 24 HOURS WHO doesn't love a freebie? There is no better feeling than getting your hands on a coffee, meal or drink without spending a penny. That's why I spent a day hoovering up bargains along my local high street, including coffee, spring rolls, and even a cocktail – and managed to get nearly £62 worth of goodies. Shops often offer customers freebies to promote new products, reward them for their loyalty or to attract new shoppers. Food and drink prices have soared in the past few years, making it more expensive to grab a treat. So I was eager to see how many freebies I could get my hands on in 24 hours. At 8.30am I popped into my local Greggs to grab my first freebie of the day – a black coffee, worth £1.90. I had downloaded the Greggs app the night before and all I needed to do was open the app and activate the reward. What a result! At 1pm the hunt began for a bargain lunch. I headed to Chopstix Noodle Bar, as I heard that you can get five free spring rolls worth £2.50 if you download the shop's app. I signed up, and in minutes, a coupon for the snack appeared in my account. They were just how I like them – crunchy on the outside and still warm from the oven. At 1.40pm I ventured over to visit a Mac Cosmetics near the office and asked for some testers. I got two 10ml samples of Hyper Real Serumizer, a bestseller, which costs £80 for a 50ml bottle. My samples are worth £12.80. At 6pm I met my friends at the pub. I used an app called Dusk, which helps you find free drinks at bars. The Pembroke in Earl's Court was giving away one free Hugo Spritz worth £10 to every customer, so I went and claimed mine. Cheers! lI also got: Blueberry muffin £3.75; taco £3.49; cappuccino £4.10; cosmetic samples £15.91; Nicotine pouches, £6.50; cat food 19p DROOPER MARKETS SUPERMARKETS suffered a 'dismal' month of May as shoppers cut back on booze and tobacco spending, figures reveal. The total volume of retail sales fell by 2.7 per cent — dropping at the fastest rate in more than a year — the Office for National Statistics says. 5 This compared with a 1.3 per cent rise in April. May's overall retail sales came in considerably below the 0.7 per cent decline that most economists had been expecting for the month. ONS senior statistician Hannah Finselbach said: 'Retail sales fell sharply in May with their largest monthly fall since the end of 2023. This was mainly due to a dismal month for food retailers, especially supermarkets, following strong sales in April. 'Feedback suggested reduced purchases for alcohol and tobacco, with customers choosing to make cutbacks.' She added that clothing and homeware stores were reporting reduced footfall in May. A drop in demand for DIY items last month followed the sunny weather in April that had boosted home improvement projects. Despite May's decline, retail sales volumes rose by 0.8 per cent across the three months to May, compared with the three months to February. Nicholas Found, head of commercial content at research consultancy Retail Economics, said: 'The cost of living remains the dominant concern for households.' PETROL PRICES RISING PETROL prices are on the rise again after fuel costs fell to their lowest levels since July 2021. The AA said average prices of unleaded hit 132.8p on Thursday, after they bottomed out at 132.3p last month. Diesel was 138.9p a litre on Thursday, after a low of 138.1p. Tensions in the Middle East have pushed up global oil prices. The AA's Luke Bosdet said: 'Oil prices look daunting but the impact's been limited.' SUPPLY PAIN THE supermarket watchdog has launched a new probe into Amazon. The Grocery Code Adjudicator will look at whether it breached rules on treatment of suppliers. It will focus on its delays to paying them, deductions to commercial negotiations, and how it manages supplier concerns. Leading ombudsman Mark White said: 'The alleged delays could expose Amazon suppliers to excessive risk and unexpected costs, potentially affecting their ability to invest and innovate.' TAX TWEAK MAJOR changes to council tax are coming with a Government shake-up. Millions of households could make the payments over 12 months instead of ten under plans to help households manage their finances better. A consultation launched yesterday also laid out plans to make town halls wait longer before demanding a bill is paid in full and cap liability orders. If just one payment is missed, a council currently can demand bills are paid for an entire year.

BBC News

an hour ago

• BBC News

Could Glasgow's skyline be set to change with skyscrapers?

Think of skyscrapers and images come to mind of New York City's skyline, or hundreds of buildings soaring above the streets of Hong could Glasgow be poised for a similar boom in tall buildings?The city council formally approved its new tall buildings policy on Thursday, with a design guide establishing what areas could benefit from construction, such as Charing Cross and local authority hope the plans would lure more developers to the city, building upwards and therefore creating more accommodation and also space for businesses - at a time when land for development is becoming limited. It's a strategy other cities in the UK have pursued in recent years, with London and Manchester building clusters of skyscrapers at Scotland News understands the hope from some in the city council is that the new policy would shatter misconceptions regarding Glasgow having limits on building heights, and therefore encourage more interest from the moment the city's tallest building - the tower at the Science Centre by the River Clyde - is under the minimum height for a skyscraper, which is taller than 150m. It sits at began last year on the Ard development in Blythswood Hill, a 36-storey tower of student accommodation. But some of the city's tall buildings already lie vacant, while large blocks of flats - like on Wyndford Road - have been demolished in recent to redevelop the 14-storey Met Tower as a digital tech hub were cancelled last year. The new design guide doesn't set sights quite so high, defining tall buildings via various factors - including how it's perceived on street level and how it affects the skyline around highest category - metropolitan - is classed as a building three and a half times above the height of "the broader context" surrounding it, meaning somewhere like the Met Gerry Hogan, who works with the firm Collective Architecture, believes the policy is quite conservative, but welcome nonetheless."We've been a little reticent to be bold with in our approach to tall buildings, and arguably with architecture in Glasgow generally," he says. "If anything, the guide doesn't go far enough – they go through a very careful analysis of where tall buildings should be located and it doesn't give much encouragement for parts of the city." That belief is centred on the guide's suggestion on placing larger spaces - ideally mixed-use developments with shops or leisure facilities below housing - in certain parts of the city, therefore avoiding clashes with conservation areas like Pollok Park. Russell Baxter, a director with architecture and engineering firm NORR, believes the guide encourages clusters of buildings together."If you look at London, there's a lot of clusters there," he says. "It has a very protected skyline, so things like cathedrals and churches are retained, and key views are retained – that's everything in these cities. "So in Glasgow something like Trinity Tower at Park Circus is a key view – you can't obliterate that view for people. The idea is to cluster them together so you get a number of them in one area - the edge of the motorway is always seen as a place where that can happen." Mr Hogan believes that the quality of the new builds themselves will be key to making them a success, wherever they are situated in the city."A tall building is the same as any building, it comes down to how good it is," he explains. "Sure, height is a factor but if it's well designed and how it sits in the skyline has been considered then there's no reason it couldn't be put in more sensitive areas if they were well enough designed."What this seeks to promote, and what I agree with, is having multi-use buildings that bring in people throughout the day and engage people in using both the building and the wider area around it. "You don't want it putting a nearby park in the shade for example." 'You have to justify these buildings' Cllr Ruairi Kelly, the convener for development and land use at Glasgow city council, said the proposals will play a "significant role in our ambition to grow the city centre population" through providing a housing Manchester's recent boom in tall buildings was driven by public money, in particular the £300m Greater Manchester Housing Investment Glasgow will have to box clever, including with locations."You've not got the ability to do what you could do in Victorian times where you could just place a church or town hall at the end of a street, like a church being right on Ingram Street," says Mr Baxter. "If you go down Buchanan Street and the way the station entrance is sitting there – those were classic Victorian moves for how you masterplan cities and those buildings were key public buildings. "Now what you get are all buildings that are full of students and you have to justify them taking up these key positions."The guidance itself was drawn up through a public consultation and feedback from designers, developers and amenity Baxter believes the guidance will be helpful, even if the city having its own version of the Burj Khalifa remains a pie in the sky thought for now. "At the end of the day, you're not going to stop developers building tall. So what you need to do is control it, and that's what the policy is there to do – control where they are and control the quality of them."