University suspends lecturer accused of racism

Leeds University has suspended a lecturer who praised the British National Party (BNP) in a new book. Frank Ellis, a lecturer in Russian and Slavonic studies, also praised the book The Bell Curve, citing a theory from it claiming black people are less intelligent than white people. He also claimed research by Hans Eysenck and Arthur Jenson supported this. Vice-chancellor Professor Michael Arthur suspended Ellis following a meeting yesterday, March 23. It is expected that disciplinary measures will take months, during which time Ellis remains an employee of the university. The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2002 requires universities to promote racial equality.

Ellis spoke at the American Renaissance conference in 2000. He criticised the Stephen Lawrence enquiry and the Macpherson report which followed it. This year BNP leader Nick Griffin was a speaker at the conference.