The Royal Society is set to hold a meeting after an open letter was signed by thousands of people over the society’s “failure” to recognise fellow Elon Musk “has acted in contravention of its own code of conduct”.
The billionaire, who leads the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) set up by US President Donald Trump and owns the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, is a fellow of the society, which is a “fellowship of many of the world’s most eminent scientists” and the “independent scientific academy of the UK”.
Emeritus Professor Stephen Curry, professor of structural biology at Imperial College London, wrote the open letter, which has been signed by more than 2,400 people.
The letter was also sent to Sir Adrian Smith, president of the Royal Society.
Another letter was sent to fellows from Sir Adrian, in which he said a meeting would be held next month after concerns were raised about “public pronouncements and behaviours of other fellows”.
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”.
He said the society was made aware of concerns more than six months ago about “how Musk’s behaviour was in contravention of your Code of Conduct”, such as his “promotion of unfounded conspiracy theories”.
Professor Curry also mentioned the tech entrepreneur’s X post in which he attacked safeguarding minister Jess Phillips over the issue of historical grooming gangs in the UK.
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.’).”
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 letter says that the lack of any statement on the issue by the society “increasingly looks like a failure of moral courage”.
He ends the letter by saying: “I urge you, for the sake of decency and to offer hope in what are very troubling times, to demonstrate that the Royal Society has the courage to stand up for the scientific community and for the values that it claims to believe in.”
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.
“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.
“In the history of science, there have been people who have contributed to scientific progress who have expressed opinions that are controversial and intemperate.”
He added that the council recognises the general principles and traditions evolve over time and so it is important that the fellowship has the opportunity to discuss these matters.
Professor Curry, speaking to the PA news agency, welcomed the news of the meeting and added there is a “very strong feeling among the scientific community about Musk’s behaviour”.
He added: “My main concern was that the society had not said anything publicly about this other than to put out the line ‘any issues raised in respect of individual fellows are dealt with in strict confidence’.”
Professor Curry said he felt it was “incumbent” on the society to “explain why they haven’t taken any action”.
He added: “I’m not looking to silence Musk, but it’s the lack of action by the Royal Society that’s a concern here.
“At the very least, they should come out and disassociate themselves with the things he’s said and he’s doing and find a way to offer some message of support to the scientific community in the United States.”
He added: “I would like to see the Royal Society explain themselves, that’s the main point of my letter.
“It’s entirely down to them what they do, I’m not looking for a particular outcome.”
A spokesperson from the Royal Society said: “The Royal Society is holding a meeting of the fellows to discuss the principles around public pronouncements and behaviours of fellows.
“This meeting will be held on 3 March.
“Any issues raised in respect of individual fellows are dealt with in strict confidence.”
