Sir – Reg Little’s article (The Iron Lady’s complex relationship with Oxford, April 11) needs to be given a broader context.


Certainly it was traditional for a Prime Minister who was an Oxford graduate to be given an honorary degree soon after taking up office.  However the process of giving an honorary degree has to be approved by Congregation.


In 1973, there was a proposal to give an honorary degree to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto then President of Pakistan. This was rejected by Congregation on the basis of his performance in office because of his treatment of his political opponents. The rejection caused Oxford some embarrassment, and after discussion in Hebdomadal Council, it was decided that the university should not honour an active politician while in office. That decision, unfortunately, was not minuted. The then members’ response was “No, we will remember”.


The next time the possibility came up was in connection with a visit to this country in 1978 by Seretse Khama, President of Botswana. When the Foreign Office approached the university, the situation post-Bhutto was relayed. There was then a search for another university willing to act, and   City University was persuaded to confer such a degree. 


Thus, after the election in 1979, while there was an expectation in Downing Street, the University responded in the same terms as it had done previously.


The University came under increasing pressure from Downing Street over the next two years, during which the university system as a whole was being subjected to the most severe reduction in Government funding in history.


Oxford had escaped relatively lightly, but Salford and Aston, in particular, had to face reductions in academic staffing levels of over 30 per cent. Council had no alternative but to forward a proposal to Congregation, and it was no surprise that the proposal was rejected.
Prof Raoul Franklin, Oxford