General Secretary of the UCU pays substantial damages to Paul Embery.

 

Paul Embery (left) - Dr Jo Grady (right)

I remember reading some time ago, about Paul Embery, threatening to start legal proceedings for defamation against Dr Jo Grady, general secretary of the University and College Union (UCU), after they had a spat on Twitter about an incident on a train.

Embery, a fireman, columnist, and a trade union activist, had been travelling on the train from London to Norwich in August 2022, with his children, when he challenged a group of women about their alleged loutish behaviour, threats, and foul and abusive language. He was threatened with a beer bottle and told he would be knocked out. He'd asked them to stop swearing in front of his children. He filmed the incident on his phone and tweeted a photo of the group, to the train operator Greater Anglia, expecting that they would take action against the women. The tweet 'went viral' and was seen by over a million people including Dr Grady.

Among other things, Grady accused Embery of being "creepy" and "bullying women." She tweeted: "It's creepy to record young women on the train, share that video, and lie about them for clout." Over a period of two days, Grady published other tweets: "Grow up Paul and take a day off bullying women and pretending to be outraged for clicks. It's pathetic at any age, but especially yours."

Embery claimed that she'd falsely portrayed him as "a misogynist, a pervert, and a liar", and had caused "immeasurable harm" to his reputation. When Grady refused to apologise and withdraw her allegations after Mr Embery wrote to her, he started legal proceedings which he financed through crowdfunding and raised £24,000 in just eight days.

Earlier this month, the High Court, was told that Grady had agreed to pay damages, legal costs, and had given an undertaking not to repeat her allegations. Paul Embery told a reporter that he expects to receive £10,000 in damages and that Dr Grady will have to pay over £12,000 in costs. He said he will be donating the damages awarded, to groups that are campaigning to defend women's sex based rights.

Within the UCU, Dr Grady is facing several votes of no confidence in her leadership of the union which will be debated at the union's annual congress. Since 2019, the union has been involved in the country's longest-running dispute over pay and working conditions which some union members feel, is going nowhere, under Grady's leadership of the union. There have also been concerns raised about Grady's outspoken views on social media. Jo Grady seems to be rather young to be a General Secretary of a British trade union and this is reflected in the asinine remarks directed at Paul Embery.