A compensation claim from a University of Salford lecturer accused of expenses fraud in a group email from the financial director has cost the university £110,000.

When Dr Tom McMaster submitted a £180 travel expenses claim in 2006, he received a reply from the accounts department claiming that “"the original claim was an attempted fraud and appropriately rejected.”

"Those who submitted and certified it should be ashamed of themselves,” the email added.

Several of McMaster’s colleagues were copied in on the email. McMaster successfully sued the university for libel, after the parties failed to settle out of court. He was awarded £10,000 in damages, and the University is expected to have to pay fees of around £100,000.

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