An academic who was sacked for gross misconduct by Swansea University for seeking to gain personally with equity stakes in the £200m Life Sciences and Wellness Village project said the university was "not reasonable" to dismiss him, an employment tribunal has heard.
Professor Clement was initially suspended, along with former vice-chancellor of the university Prof Richard Davies, in November 2018 and were both dismissed following an eight-month disciplinary process. Mr Poole, who worked under Professor Clement at the school of management, was also dismissed in 2019. Both Prof Clement and Mr Poole, who are representing themselves in the tribunal, lost their appeals.
The allegations were made in relation to a £200m wellness village that was planned in Llanelli. A further part of the investigation that led to their suspensions, and then subsequent dismissals, was a proposed £600m joint venture for a new university and private hospital in Kuwait, involving Swansea University. Prof Clement had been accused of "hiding" his shares in a company set to benefit from the regeneration project - claims he had denied. The matter was later investigated by the police, however the CPS decided not to pursue the case saying it was "not in the public interest."
