Poetry professor 'relieved' to quit

Ruth Padel rejected any idea that she had done anything wrong but said her emails to journalists to highlight allegations against a rival were "naive and silly".

Professor Padel said she played no part in an anonymous letter campaign against Derek Walcott, who was favourite to win the election until he stood down after what he described as a "low and degrading" campaign against him.

Prof Padel, a descendant of Charles Darwin, was elected to the prestigious post, the first woman to hold it in its 301-year history, last week. She said she felt "relieved" now that she had stood down.

"As soon as I was told yesterday that there were people in Oxford who were severely against me I thought it was the right thing," she told BBC Radio 4's The World at One. "I didn't want to divide the university, I wanted to offer it my services, so of course I stood down immediately."

Mr Walcott, 79, withdrew from the race after Oxford academics received letters which reportedly detailed an allegation of sexual harassment made against him.

Earlier, in a brief press conference at the Hay Festival of Literature, in Mid-Wales, Prof Padel admitted sending two emails to journalists she was in contact with detailing information "that was already in the public domain" regarding Mr Walcott.

She said she had acted out of concern for female students at Oxford who had brought the allegations to her attention and added it was "deeply troubling" that people might think the emails she sent were a part of that campaign.

She acknowledged that sending the emails was "naive and silly", but she stopped short of saying that they were wrong. "I do want to apologise to him, but I cannot apologise for things I have not done and I have not done the campaign."

Prof Padel's election followed the withdrawal of Nobel Laureate Walcott on May 12 and came despite calls for the contest to be suspended. An Oxford University spokeswoman said the institution "respects the decision" taken by Prof Padel.