Suspended academic Roy Anderson has stood down as a governor of the medical charity the Wellcome Trust.

Prof Anderson has told the charity that he will be unable to carry out his responsibilities as a trustee while complaints against him at Oxford were being investigated.

But the Trust says it remains hopeful that the Oxford University professor of Zoology can again resume his work, once inquiries are complete.

Prof Anderson was sent home on full pay from the Department of Zoology after three formal complaints, including two from women members of his own department.

The case centres on the appointment of the scientist and novelist to Dr Sunetra Gupta to a readership. The complaints are said to concern the professor's alleged attempts to influence a decision by a Zoology department's appointments committee, which he chaired.

Dr Gupta is understood to have complained when remarks made by Prof Anderson became public.

The Wellcome Trust said Prof Anderson had stood down temporarily from his £50,000 a year job as a trustee and from his responsibilities on three Wellcome Trust advisory panels because of the proceedings against him.

Trust spokesman Noorece Ahned said: "This is entirely the professor's own decision."

Story date: Friday 11 February

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.