A university principal who warned of “inevitable” job losses owing to financial pressures has been accused of extravagant spending on international trips that involved business class flights and luxury hotel stays. Iain Gillespie, the £300,000-a-year head of Dundee University, told staff and students earlier this month that the university was facing a £30 million deficit this year but the challenge must be met “together”. However, it has emerged that £7,000 was spent on flights for Gillespie and another unnamed staff member last November for a trip to Hong Kong as well as more than £1,000 on a two-night hotel stay.
The Courier newspaper also reported that Gillespie was booked on business-class flights, worth more than £8,300, for a trip to China and Dubai next month before the university clamped down and booked cheaper seats..