We are writing to express our grave concern at the recent use of the charge of insubordination against a member of staff in the Institute of Education. Insubordination is an explicitly militaristic term which refers to an express and unquestioning obedience to orders given by a superior. It has no place whatsoever in a university. This is a place of learning, education, enquiry and collaboration, where militaristic models of obedience and chain of command are neither appropriate nor welcome.

We note that there is no reference to insubordination in the MMU Discipline Policy and are writing to obtain assurances that management and HR at MMU are committed to developing an approach to disciplinary issues with due regard for the published procedures and in keeping with appropriate terms of reference. We would urge you to confirm that militaristic models of discipline and authority have no place in a university.