Mystery over University Vice Chancellor’s ‘meet the politicians’ list

Martin Shipton

Bangor University’s Vice Chancellor is facing criticism after a leaked document revealed the “unbalanced” list of politicians he has met since the beginning of 2026.

Earlier this week the university confirmed to Nation.Cymru that Professor Edmund Burke had hosted a dinner for David Jones, a former Tory Secretary of State for Wales and Brexit Minister, who stood down as the MP for Clwyd West in 2024 and defected to Reform UK last year.

The Vice Chancellor’s dinner with Mr Jones occurred two weeks before a row erupted when a student society refused to invite one of Reform’s MPs to address a meeting.

Early in February Zia Yusuf, now Reform’s Home Affairs spokesperson, launched a strong verbal attack on the university after its student Debating and Political Society rejected a suggestion by the party that its Runcorn and Helsby MP Sarah Pochin should appear at a Q&A session with Nigel Farage’s social media adviser Jack Anderton.

The student society issued a statement at the time which said: “In line with our values, this request was refused.

“We stand by this decision as a committee. We have zero tolerance for any form of racism, transphobia or homophobia displayed by the members of Reform UK. Their approach to the lives of others is antithetical to the values of welcoming and fair debate that our society has upheld for 177 years.

“We are proud to be the first of the debating unions to take a stand against Reform UK. We strongly implore our fellow societies to join us in keeping hate out of our universities.”

Anderton had previously suggested that Britain would be better off had it stayed neutral in the second world war instead of fighting Nazi Germany, claimed the UK should not support Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression and argued that in a future world of “meritocracy”, the UK could “regain” former colonies such as Australia, Canada and South Africa.

Pochin had been forced to apologise after stating: “It drives me mad when I see adverts full of black people, full of Asian people.”

Yusuf responded to the debating society with an angry post on X that said: “Bangor University have [sic] banned Reform and called us ‘racist, transphobic and homophobic’.

“Bangor receives £30m in state funding a year, much of which comes from Reform-voting taxpayers. I am sure they won’t mind losing every penny of that state funding under a Reform government. After all, they wouldn’t want a racist’s money, would they?”

Sources within Bangor University contacted us to express concern that the Vice Chancellor appeared to be seeking to placate Reform UK at the cost of supporting students.

The university confirmed that Prof Burke had hosted the dinner with Mr Jones and stated: “It is normal and expected for university leadership, including vice chancellors, to meet with political figures from across the political spectrum to discuss emerging policy and its potential implications for the sector. Such engagement is routine across UK higher education and ensures that universities can effectively represent their interests, contribute to informed policymaking, and understand the direction of future legislative developments.

“As part of this routine engagement, the Vice Chancellor, who in his role remains politically neutral, has held dinner meetings with representatives from political parties across the spectrum and with civil servants. One such meeting included a dinner with David Jones. This meeting took place two weeks before the social media story referenced and therefore cannot be characterised as an attempt to respond to, or influence, that issue.

“The dinner was in the University’s Management Centre Restaurant, off the restaurant’s standard menu.”

Darren Millar

Following the publication of our article on the matter, we received a message from Darren Millar, leader of the Welsh Conservative opposition group in the Senedd. It stated: “I have never been invited to dinner with the VC of Bangor.”

We subsequently received from a source at Bangor University a “restricted” document listing the names and dates of meetings held with political figures since the beginning of 2026.

Headed “Political Engagement” and with a sub-heading “Meetings”, the list reads:

Meeting with Vikki Howells MS, Minister for Further and Higher Education – 14th January 2026.

Visit by Vikki Howells MS, Minister for Further and Higher Education – 22nd January 2026

Meeting with Rt Hon David Jones – 22nd January 2026

Meeting with Robin Millar [former Conservative MP for Aberconwy] – 2nd February 2026

Meeting with Sian Gwenllian MS – 6th February 2026

Meeting with Minister [Anna] McMorrin MP (UK Gov) – 6th February 2026

Meeting with Sarah Pochin MP – 11th February 2026

Meeting with Vikki Howells MS – Minister for FE and HE (WG) – 11th February 2026.

A list of meetings scheduled and in planning follows:

Visit 23rd February 2026 (at M-SParc) by:

* Baroness Eluned Morgan MS, First Minister of Wales

* Rebecca Evans MS, Cabinet Secretary for Economy

* Jack Sargeant [sic – should read Sargeant, Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership

Meeting with Ciaran Hayes, Director of the UK Governments’ [sic] Wales Office 19th February 2026

Rhun ap Iorwerth MS requested

Claire Hughes MP requested

Llinos Medi MP requested

Liz Saville-Roberts MP requested

Lord Dafydd Wigley requested.

We wrote to Bangor University stating: “On the issue of engagement with politicians, we have received a message from Darren Millar MS, leader of the Welsh Conservatives, saying he has never been invited to dinner by the VC.

“We have also been sent a ‘restricted’ list of political figures who have met with the VC, together with a number where politicians have been ‘requested’ to accept an invitation.

“We note that the only Conservative figure on the list is the former MP Robin Millar.

“On what basis has it been decided to invite particular politicians?”

‘Expected’

A spokesperson for Bangor University said: “We have no further comment beyond what we sent earlier in the week which is that: “It is normal and expected for university leadership, including vice chancellors, to meet with political figures from across the political spectrum to discuss emerging policy and its potential implications for the sector.

“Such engagement is routine across UK higher education and ensures that universities can effectively represent their interests, contribute to informed policymaking, and understand the direction of future legislative developments. As part of this routine engagement, the Vice Chancellor, who in his role remains politically neutral, has held dinner meetings with representatives from political parties across the spectrum and with civil servants.”

MPs

A Bangor University source said: “That man [the Vice Chancellor] and his two underlings are nasty pieces of work, and they are ripping the heart out of the institution and all it stands for historically, including care for the local community and much needed employment.

“There is no way this could be described as a balanced list of politicians. The one Conservative isn’t even an MP any more. And why so many MPs when education is devolved?”