the times | Saturday May 28 2022 2GM 17
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Paul’s Cathedral the following day. She
is also expected to attend the Epsom
Derby on Saturday, although her plans
will not be confirmed until the day.
Meanwhile, a new £3 million jubilee
fund to upgrade and renovate 125 of En-
gland’s village halls over a three-year
period has been announced by the gov-
ernment as a “lasting legacy”.
Lord Benyon, the rural affairs minis-
ter, said: “Village halls are the centre-
piece of rural life and funding their ren-
ovation to mark the jubilee is a fitting
tribute to the Queen’s service.
“In a changing world, they are impor-
tant facilities for community groups,
social clubs and local services. This
funding will ensure they are central to
the fabric of our villages for many more
years to come.”
Prinny is no role model for a regent
Charles, Ben Macintyre, pages 36-
How to throw a jubilee party, Weekend
Joan Collins says she should have been
in The Crown, WeekendLet’s get jubilant at 16,000 street parties
The Queen (2022) by Oluwole Omofemi is part of Sotheby’s free jubilee exhibition in London, running until July 15. Below left, celebrating the Queen’s 90th birthdayTRISTAN FEWINGS/GETTY IMAGES
Valentine Low
An Oxford college has reignited a row
with its former dean, accusing him of
“untrue” claims after he said that
academics had tried to destroy his
reputation.
Martyn Percy, 59, received a £1.2 mil-
lion settlement and stood down from
Christ Church, the alma mater of 13
prime ministers, following a four-year
dispute with governors.
Percy had been subject to allegations
of scandalous behaviour, poor judg-
ment and sexual harassment, all of
which were dismissed. His dispute with
Concerts, beacons, the Derby and a pageant
There are the key events of
the five days of jubilee
celebrationsWednesday, June 1
The BBC Concert Orchestra
will perform Royalty on
Screen — A Jubilee
Celebration at Queen
Elizabeth Hall in the
Southbank Centre, central
London.Thursday, June 2
Trooping the Colour
begins at 10am.
Afterwards,
members of
the royal
family,
including —it is hoped — the Queen, will
gather on the Buckingham
Palace balcony to watch a
flypast featuring more than
70 RAF, army and Royal
Navy aircraft. Just before
1pm an 82-gun salute will be
fired in Hyde Park, followed
by a 124-gun salute from the
Tower of London. At 9.25pm
the royal family will
assemble outside
Buckingham Palace for the
lighting of the jubilee
beacons.Friday June 3
A service of thanksgiving
for the Queen’s reign begins
at St Paul’s Cathedral at
11.30am, followed by a lordmayor’s reception at the
Guildhall, which will be
attended by members of
the royal family.Saturday June 4
The Queen, accompanied
by members of the royal
family, is expected to attend
the Derby at Epsom Downs.
In the evening, the BBC’s
Platinum Party concert will
take place in front of
Buckingham Palace,
featuring stars including
Queen, Diana Ross and
Duran Duran.Sunday June 5
More than 60,000 people
have registered to holdjubilee lunches, with events
ranging from garden BBQs
to world record attempts
for the longest street party.
The main event will take
place at the Oval in London.
At 2.30pm, the Platinum
Jubilee Pageant begins,
involving 10,000 people
showcasing the changes in
society over the past 70
years. The procession starts
at Parliament Square and
makes its way up Whitehall,
through Admiralty Arch and
along the Mall to the palace.
The four-act pageant will
end with Happy and
Glorious, a grand finale
featuring 150 “national
treasures”.Britain will throw more than 16,
street parties to celebrate the Queen’s
Platinum Jubilee over the bank holiday
weekend, a poll has predicted.
Councils across England have re-
ceived “a huge number” of applications
from residents eager to celebrate the
70-year royal milestone, according to
the Local Government Association.
Many councils have waived admin-
istration fees for road closures, of which
there were 9,500 during the Queen’s
Diamond Jubilee in 2012, according to
the association. Its snap poll of a dozen
councils showed that they had ap-
proved more than 1,000 street parties.
Extrapolated nationally, it could mean
more than 16,000 jubilee bashes.
James Jamieson, chairman of the
association, said: “Councils are pulling
out all the stops to help their communi-
ties celebrate a historic day for our
country. Whether it be approving thou-
sands of local road closures for free or
putting on big community events,
councils are doing what they do best
and bringing people together in inno-
vative ways to mark this important
milestone.
“After two tough years at the height
of the Covid-19 pandemic, we hope that
this time will allow people to raise a
toast and celebrate with their loved
ones and neighbours.”
Hertfordshire county council has
received a record 475 street party appli-
cations while Waltham Forest in north-
east London has approved more than
100 events and is putting on a mile-long
street party.
The Queen, 96, who usually visits her
Scottish home at the start of the sum-
mer, arrived in Balmoral on Thursday
to rest before the four-day celebrations
begin. She is understood to be pacing
herself after attending a number of
engagements in recent weeks. She has
missed engagements recently because
of mobility problems, including the
state opening of parliament.
She made, however, a surprise ap-
pearance at Paddington Station
for the opening of the Elizabeth
Line, named in her honour,
and also visited the Chelsea
Flower Show, touring the
garden displays in an electric
buggy.
The jubilee festivities
will begin on Thursday
with Trooping the Colour,
the sovereign’s official
birthday parade on Horse
Guards Parade. The
Queen is later expected
to join working mem-
bers of the royal
family on the
Buckingham
Palace balco-
ny and at the
service at St
Oxford dean given £1.2m payoff is accused of ‘untrue’ claims
Christ Church began as a row over pay,
but he was suspended over claims that
he stroked a woman’s hair in the
cathedral at the college.
In an interview with The Times
earlier this month, Percy said that he
believed that Oxford academics had at-
tempted “to destroy [him] financially,
reputationally and psychologically”.
He said the sexual harassment alle-
gation stemmed from an incident when
he was “left entirely alone” to help a
female student out of a shower after she
cut her foot.
In a lengthy response published
yesterday, Christ Church said: “Therewill be no peace until we outline
exactly how our dispute with Dr Percy
unfolded.”
Christ Church said that there had
been a campaign by Percy and “his sup-
porters” involving leaked documents,
letters and emails “knitted into a narra-
tive that has been at best, distorted andone-sided and, at worst, untrue”. The
statement added that the initial reason
for the fallout between Percy and the
college was “the way he set about trying
to obtain a substantial pay rise in 2017”.
It added: “Many considered him to be
putting his personal interests above the
charity’s interests.”
Last night Percy said that he had
“never” requested a pay rise, adding: “I
requested a fair method for conducting
pay reviews for senior staff.”
Regarding the sexual harassment
allegation, which was settled as part of
Percy’s exit, the college said: “Repeated
claims by Dr Percy and his supportersthat [the Church had] cleared or
exonerated Dr Percy are simply untrue.”
Percy has always denied wrongdoing
and last night said he had been
“watched over by the duty porter whilst
attending to the student in question”.
His accuser accepted an undisclosed
amount from the college as a settle-
ment, saying reluctantly she had to
accept that “it is my word against his”.
A tribunal led by a former High
Court judge in 2019 concluded that
allegations of wrongdoing against
Percy by the college’s governing body
did not meet the legal threshold to re-
move him from office.Charles Moloney
Martyn Percy was
cleared of all
allegations