On 12 October the University of York Physics department issued a statement claiming that the references from Krauss and Wilson “made no comment regarding [McKeown’s] future engagement with the Department” despite the court transcripts saying otherwise.
However, according to the court transcript, at McKeown’s sentencing in September 2019, Mr Goode – who was defending McKeown – said that Krauss and Wilson were “supportive of the defendant returning to the university post-release”.
We contacted the University of York for comment on this disparity. Replying to our email, the University stated: “We can confirm that the written references provided to the court did not state that Joseph McKeown would be welcomed back following his sentence.”
We contacted Kieran Gibson, head of Physics, pointing out this contradiction. Gibson made no comment regarding the contradiction and passed our enquiries on to the Press Office.
When we sent the court transcripts to the Press Office highlighting the contradiction, the University made no further comment.
We have asked the University for a copy of the references given by Krauss and Wilson, but are yet to receive them.