Royal Institution Faces Criticism over Illegal Lease to Ferranti Limited
Charity Commission is investigating the issue of an illegal lease made by the Royal Institution, one of the most prestigious scientific institutions in
It has been alleged that the Royal Institution has leased out its desk space in a location in
In the present case, Adrian de Ferranti, who is the chief executive officer of Ferranti Limited also happens to be the chairperson of the Royal Institution. According to the Charity Commission, the Institution did not get the necessary prior approval and have therefore been asked to provide details of the said arrangement to the Commission.
According to Chris Rofe, Chief Executive, the Royal Institution, this lease to Ferranti Limited has been operational since December 2009. He went on to state that neither did the Institution obtain any prior permission for the said lease nor is there any information that the company was informed of the said lease. However, the Institution is ensuring that it complies with all provisions of the law and has asked for exact details that are required to be provided for validating the lease.
It is interesting to note that this is not the first time that the Royal Institution is in the news as very recently they got some negative publicity for the removal of the erstwhile director Baroness Susan Greenfield.
