Chairman of troubled Leeds Met's governors announces he will quit

Ninian Watt told a governors' board meeting yesterday he intended to retire at the end of this academic year – a move welcomed by the main lecturers' union.

The University and College Union, which has drawn up plans for a vote of no confidence, said it continued to have reservations about the board and would be seeking further reassurances over transparency at a meeting with governors early next month.

Branch secretary Philip Webster said: "I'm pleased he's going but I don't think that's the end of it. Our meeting still goes ahead and we will be looking for a more transparent and open operation."

Mr Webster said he also welcomed Leeds Met's decision to publicly advertise for a new chairman, rather than appoint from within. The union believes the current board is tainted by overseeing a series of controversial decisions made during the reign of former vice chancellor Simon Lee.

Mr Lee resigned a year ago in the wake of bullying allegations, which he denied. Since then, a series of breaches of financial controls have emerged and serious questionmarks have been placed against huge spending on largely sporting partnerships.

Chief among them was a decision to take control of Leeds Carnegie rugby union club which ended with an 8m bill for the university when it decided to bale out two years into a 10-year deal.

Mr Watt had accepted Mr Lee's advice that the rugby deal should be kept secret from governors until it was a fait accompli. It was ultimately rubber-stamped by the governing board.

The university yesterday issued a statement saying Mr Watt, 70, would retire after serving for 12 years as a governor, including four as board chairman. Mr Watt said: "It has been a particularly challenging year for the university. I have spent a great deal of time working with other governors and senior colleagues to ensure that we tackle each and every issue, making changes and taking difficult decisions where necessary, to ensure that the university has a positive future.

"I have very much valued the support that the board has given me, individually and collectively, and I thank them most sincerely for that.

"While some will have strong opinions about decisions that we have taken in the past, what I can say is that I have always acted with integrity and with the best interests of the university at heart, taking appropriate counsel from colleagues and advisers."