Alistair Moffat: Difference between revisions
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On 28 October 2011, Moffat was elected Rector of the [[University of St Andrews]]. He was appointed for a three-year term, his period of office spanning the university’s 600th anniversary celebrations which ran from 2011 to 2013.<ref name="st-andrews1">http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/news/archive/2011/Title,76643,en.html</ref> |
On 28 October 2011, Moffat was elected Rector of the [[University of St Andrews]]. He was appointed for a three-year term, his period of office spanning the university’s 600th anniversary celebrations which ran from 2011 to 2013.<ref name="st-andrews1">http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/news/archive/2011/Title,76643,en.html</ref> |
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===BritainsDNA=== |
===BritainsDNA Controversy=== |
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Moffat was the chief executive of the company [[BritainsDNA]], which offered genetic analyses of the [[mitochondrial DNA]] and [[Human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup|Y chromosomal DNA]] of customers who interested in their ancestry. Moffat's management and promotion of the company generated much controversy and criticism from the scientific community due to his many extraordinary and scientifically unfounded claims;<ref name="Kennett" /> his use of legal threats to stiffle scientific criticism;<ref name="Kennett" /> and his misuse of media and celebrity contacts to promote his business interests.<ref name="Kennett" /> Ultimately both the University of St Andrews and the BBC upheld complaints against him,<ref name="Kennett" /> and BritainsDNA ceased trading in 2017.<ref name="Kennett" /> |
Moffat was the chief executive of the company [[BritainsDNA]], which offered genetic analyses of the [[mitochondrial DNA]] and [[Human Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup|Y chromosomal DNA]] of customers who interested in their ancestry. Moffat's management and promotion of the company generated much controversy and criticism from the scientific community due to his many extraordinary and scientifically unfounded claims;<ref name="Kennett" /> his use of legal threats to stiffle scientific criticism;<ref name="Kennett" /> and his misuse of media and celebrity contacts to promote his business interests.<ref name="Kennett" /> Ultimately both the University of St Andrews and the BBC upheld complaints against him,<ref name="Kennett" /> and BritainsDNA ceased trading in 2017.<ref name="Kennett" /> |
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On the BBC ''[[Today Programme]]'', Moffat made numerous incorrect statements, including that the company has discovered Eve's "grandson", that prices were "heavily subsidised", and that 97% of men surnamed Cohen share a common genetic marker.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9736000/9736128.stm |title=Today - Uncovering British 'deep ancestry' |work=BBC News |date=2012-07-09 |accessdate=2014-03-04}}</ref> These statements were later retracted by the chief scientist of BritainsDNA.<ref name="genomesunzipped1">{{cite web | url=http://www.genomesunzipped.org/2012/12/exaggerations-and-errors-in-the-promotion-of-genetic-ancestry-testing.php | title=Response to “Exaggerations and errors in the promotion of genetic ancestry testing” | work=Genomes Unzipped | date=17 December 2012 | accessdate=July 16, 2017 |author=Jim Wilson}}</ref> Geneticists at [[University College London]] including [[David Balding]] and [[Mark G. Thomas]] have criticised these claims <ref name="genomesunzipped1" /> as having no scientific basis and is little more than genetic astrology.<ref>{{cite news |last=Thomas |first=Mark |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2013/feb/25/viking-ancestors-astrology |title=To claim someone has 'Viking ancestors' is no better than astrology |department=Science |newspaper=The Guardian |date=2013-02-25 |accessdate=2014-03-04}}</ref> However, Martin Richards, professor of [[archaeogenetics]] at [[University of Huddersfield]], and Vincent Macaulay, reader in statistics at the [[University of Glasgow]], have contested these claims.<ref>{{cite news |last=Richards |first=Martin |last2=Macaulay |first2=Vincent |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2013/apr/08/unfair-genetic-ancestry-testing-astrology |title=It is unfair to compare genetic ancestry testing to astrology |department=Science |newspaper=The Guardian |date=2013-04-08 |accessdate=2014-03-04}}</ref> |
On the BBC ''[[Today Programme]]'', Moffat made numerous incorrect statements, including that the company has discovered Eve's "grandson", that prices were "heavily subsidised", and that 97% of men surnamed Cohen share a common genetic marker.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9736000/9736128.stm |title=Today - Uncovering British 'deep ancestry' |work=BBC News |date=2012-07-09 |accessdate=2014-03-04}}</ref> These statements were later retracted by the chief scientist of BritainsDNA.<ref name="genomesunzipped1">{{cite web | url=http://www.genomesunzipped.org/2012/12/exaggerations-and-errors-in-the-promotion-of-genetic-ancestry-testing.php | title=Response to “Exaggerations and errors in the promotion of genetic ancestry testing” | work=Genomes Unzipped | date=17 December 2012 | accessdate=July 16, 2017 |author=Jim Wilson}}</ref> Geneticists at [[University College London]] including [[David Balding]] and [[Mark G. Thomas]] have criticised these claims <ref name="genomesunzipped1" /> as having no scientific basis and is little more than genetic astrology.<ref>{{cite news |last=Thomas |first=Mark |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2013/feb/25/viking-ancestors-astrology |title=To claim someone has 'Viking ancestors' is no better than astrology |department=Science |newspaper=The Guardian |date=2013-02-25 |accessdate=2014-03-04}}</ref> However, Martin Richards, professor of [[archaeogenetics]] at [[University of Huddersfield]], and Vincent Macaulay, reader in statistics at the [[University of Glasgow]], have contested these claims.<ref>{{cite news |last=Richards |first=Martin |last2=Macaulay |first2=Vincent |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2013/apr/08/unfair-genetic-ancestry-testing-astrology |title=It is unfair to compare genetic ancestry testing to astrology |department=Science |newspaper=The Guardian |date=2013-04-08 |accessdate=2014-03-04}}</ref> |
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Revision as of 10:32, 8 November 2018
 | This section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (October 2011) |
Alistair Murray Moffat (born 16 June 1950, Kelso, Scotland) is an award-winning Scottish writer and journalist, former director of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and former Rector of the University of St Andrews.[1]
Education
Moffat was graduated from the University of St Andrews in 1972 with an honours degree in medieval history.[2] He also attended the University of Edinburgh and the University of London, where he earned a Master of Philosophy degree in 1975.[3][4]
Moffat was also active in student politics throughout his time at St Andrews, playing a leading role[citation needed] in the rectorial campaign of John Cleese,[5] who went on to become one of St Andrews' best loved rectors.[6]
At Edinburgh Moffat continued his involvement in student politics, campaigning with Gordon Brown,[citation needed] the second student elected rector of the University of Edinburgh.[7][8] Moffat and Brown went on to campaign on a number of social and political issues including gay rights and the 1979 Edinburgh South by-election.[citation needed]
Career
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Moffat found early success after university, becoming Director of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1976. Moffat's five-year tenure saw the festival grow into the largest arts festival on the world.[9]
STV
Moffat left the Fringe in 1981 and joined STV, where he rose to become programme director, Chief Executive of Network Production and finally Chairman of STV.[citation needed] While at STV Moffat won a number of awards for his work, notably several Royal Television Society awards and a BAFTA for his documentary on the Lockerbie Bombing.[citation needed] In 1989 he was appointed to the NSG, the group that controls UK wide scheduling for ITV, commanding a budget of £750 million. He left STV in 1999 to focus on writing.[citation needed]
Writing
During the 1970s and early 1980s Moffat wrote a number of papers focusing on education policy.[citation needed] His approach, recommending a renewed focus on primary education as the key to widening participation at secondary and higher levels, has since formed parts of the education manifestos of all three major parties in Britain.[citation needed]
Moffat's writing since 1999 has been focused mainly in the field of social history. Beginning with The Edinburgh Fringe (1978), he has written over twenty books including the bestselling Tyneside, The Reivers and The Wall, all of which have since been remade as television series.[10]
Career after STV
Since leaving STV in 1999, Moffat has served as Director of the Borders Book Festival and Lennoxlove Book Festival, both of which he also founded. He has also maintained his interest in education, serving as Director of "Book Nation", a Scottish national literacy initiative, working alongside Sir Robert Winston and Margaret Drabble to improve literacy in Scotland.[citation needed]
On 28 October 2011, Moffat was elected Rector of the University of St Andrews. He was appointed for a three-year term, his period of office spanning the university’s 600th anniversary celebrations which ran from 2011 to 2013.[11]
BritainsDNA Controversy
Moffat was the chief executive of the company BritainsDNA, which offered genetic analyses of the mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosomal DNA of customers who interested in their ancestry. Moffat's management and promotion of the company generated much controversy and criticism from the scientific community due to his many extraordinary and scientifically unfounded claims;[12] his use of legal threats to stiffle scientific criticism;[12] and his misuse of media and celebrity contacts to promote his business interests.[12] Ultimately both the University of St Andrews and the BBC upheld complaints against him,[12] and BritainsDNA ceased trading in 2017.[12]
On the BBC Today Programme, Moffat made numerous incorrect statements, including that the company has discovered Eve's "grandson", that prices were "heavily subsidised", and that 97% of men surnamed Cohen share a common genetic marker.[13] These statements were later retracted by the chief scientist of BritainsDNA.[14] Geneticists at University College London including David Balding and Mark G. Thomas have criticised these claims [14] as having no scientific basis and is little more than genetic astrology.[15] However, Martin Richards, professor of archaeogenetics at University of Huddersfield, and Vincent Macaulay, reader in statistics at the University of Glasgow, have contested these claims.[16]
Sometime after the interview on the Today Programme, Balding and Thomas wrote a series of emails to Moffat and his business partners, encouraging him to retract these inaccuracies. This was met by legal threats from Moffat to silence their criticism of the underlying science.[17] The content of these messages has been since published[18] and ultimately the University of Edinburgh upheld complaints that Moffat was unfairly impinging on academic freedom.[12]
BritainsDNA is the trade name of one of several commercial companies that comprise The Moffat Partnership Limited, founded by Moffat and partners in 2012.[19] The other Moffat companies providing genetic testing include ScotlandsDNA (the first), IrelandsDNA, CymruDNAWales and YorkshiresDNA.[20]
Great Tapestry of Scotland
Moffat was co-chairman and historian for the Great Tapestry of Scotland, a community arts project which produced the embroidered tapestry, designed by Andrew Crummy with contributions from around 1000 stitchers from across Scotland. It was unveiled on 3 September 2013 at the Scottish Parliament.[21]
Personal life
Moffat met his wife Lindsay while both were students at the University of St Andrews. They were married in 1976 in the university's ancient St Salvator's Chapel, a privilege and tradition commonly reserved only for alumni, staff or their offspring.[22] The couple have three children, two of whom also attended St Andrews.
From 2009 to 2011 he served at the invitation of James Naughtie, the Chancellor of the University of Stirling, as Chancellor's Assessor on Stirling's University Court.[23] He resigned the position in October 2011 on being invited to run for Rector of the University of St Andrews, an election which he won on 28 Oct 2011.[11]
He remains a passionate rugby supporter and regular attender of his national team's games. On one occasion, he refused to buy Tony Blair tickets for the Calcutta Cup (which he was attending with Gordon Brown) because Blair suggested he would support England rather than his native Scotland.[citation needed]
References
- ^ "BritainsDNA.com". Alistair Moffat. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
- ^ "2012 | 'The greatest university in the world' | University of St Andrews". www.st-andrews.ac.uk. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
- ^ "Alistair Moffat: Scotland – A History From Earliest Times - Edinburgh City of Literature". Edinburgh City of Literature. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
- ^ "Senate House Libraries catalogue". University of London. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
- ^ United Kingdom. "University of St Andrews - Scotland's first university, founded 1413". St-andrews.ac.uk. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
- ^ Twiss and Chennell, "Famous Rectors of St Andrews", (Alvie, 1982), p208
- ^ "The University of Edinburgh". Ed.ac.uk. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
- ^ Rosenbaum, Martin (15 July 2005). "Brown's first taste of power". BBC News. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
In 1972 he became the second student to be elected Rector.
- ^ "Alistair Moffat :: Authors :: Birlinn Ltd". Birlinn.co.uk. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
- ^ "The Wall: Rome's Greatest Frontier". Archived from the original on 23 June 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ a b http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/news/archive/2011/Title,76643,en.html
- ^ a b c d e f Kennett, Debbie. A. (2nd Nov 2018). "The Rise and Fall of BritainsDNA: A Tale of Misleading Claims, Media Manipulation and Threats to Academic Freedom". Genealogy. 2(4) (Genetic Genealogy): 47. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy2040047.
{{cite journal}}: Check|doi=value (help); Check date values in:|date=(help); External link in|doi= - ^ "Today - Uncovering British 'deep ancestry'". BBC News. 9 July 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
- ^ a b Jim Wilson (17 December 2012). "Response to "Exaggerations and errors in the promotion of genetic ancestry testing"". Genomes Unzipped. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
- ^ Thomas, Mark (25 February 2013). "To claim someone has 'Viking ancestors' is no better than astrology". Science. The Guardian. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
- ^ Richards, Martin; Macaulay, Vincent (8 April 2013). "It is unfair to compare genetic ancestry testing to astrology". Science. The Guardian. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
- ^ "The right to speak out". Editorial. Nature. 496 (7444): 137. 11 April 2013. doi:10.1038/496137a.
- ^ "Molecular and Cultural Evolution Laboratory". University College London.
- ^ "THE MOFFAT PARTNERSHIP LIMITED, TD6 9RU MELROSE Financial Information". CompaniesInTheUK. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
- ^ "Timeline of events". www.ucl.ac.uk. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
- ^ Susan Mansfield and Alistair Moffat (2013)The Great Tapestry of Scotland Birlinn Books ISBN 978-1-78027-160-6
- ^ "{title}" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 October 2011. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|dead-url=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "University of Stirling - UK Universities - Academic Excellence in Scotland". Stir.ac.uk. 10 February 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2014.