In a letter to fellows, Sir Adrian said a meeting will be held on March 3 and added: “Council has thought long and hard about concerns that have been raised by some of our fellows about public pronouncements and behaviours of other fellows and is aware that such behaviours and statements can be offensive.
He added: “I am at a loss to understand how these actions are consistent with a code of conduct that requires fellows to have ‘due regard for the statement of values developed from time to time by Society’, (values that ask fellows to ‘act in accordance with the highest standards of public life’, to make a ‘positive impact’, to ‘strive for excellence.’).”.
In the open letter, Professor Curry says he is writing to “express my dismay at the continued silence and apparent inaction from the Royal Society over the fellowship awarded in 2018 to Elon Musk”.
Professor Curry also said the situation was “rendered more serious” as Mr Musk now occupies a position within Mr Trump’s administration “that has, over the past several weeks, engaged in an assault on scientific research in the US” which has “sought to impose huge cuts in funding and a regime of censorship” that is a “direct threat to freedom of expression and academic freedom”.
“The business of the society is the advancement of the cause of science through rigorous rational scientific debate and council considers that we are on difficult ground if the society makes judgments as to the acceptability of the views or affiliations of our colleagues, particularly views that might be regarded as being political.
