John Cleese urges St Andrews students to reject controversial Green MSP Q Manivannan for rector role

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Cite

Layton, T. (2026, October 13). John Cleese urges St Andrews students to reject controversial Green MSP Q Manivannan for rector role. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16206417/John-Cleese-urges-St-Andrews-students-reject-controversial-Green-MSP-Q-Manivannan-rector-role.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

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Daily Mail · collected 2026-10-13 · by Tom Layton
Content note This article describes sexual violence.

Quick Summary

John Cleese, former rector of St Andrews University, has publicly discouraged students from supporting Green MSP Q Manivannan for the position of rector. This follows controversy surrounding Manivannan’s comments about rape during a podcast last year and allegations that he has neglected his duties as an elected representative by not holding local surgeries. Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser criticized Manivannan, suggesting he should focus on serving his constituents rather than seeking a university role outside his constituency.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-13, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

John Cleese, a former rector at St Andrews University, has urged students not to vote for Q Manivannan, a Green MSP, in the race for rector. The controversy stems from comments Manivannan made during a podcast last year where they suggested that rape exists on a "spectrum" and is sometimes "demonised." Cleese criticized this stance as trying to downplay the serious psychological effects of rape. Manivannan, who uses they/them pronouns, is one of six candidates vying for the position; others include Brian Baumgartner from *The Office*. Additionally, Murdo Fraser, a Conservative MSP, accused Manivannan of ignoring his constituents and seeking roles outside his constituency in Edinburgh and Lothians East.

Written for “John Cleese Rector Campaign” on 2026-10-15, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 John Cleese Rector Campaign
Entertainment · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Evening Standard
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 4% hedged 1 of 25 📰 publisher trust 67
“Both articles report on John Cleese urging St Andrews students to vote against Q Manivannan for rector, discussing similar recent controversies surrounding Manivannan.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
19
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 19 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
64/100
Daily Mail's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-13 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Daily Mail · 5550 article(s) · 15 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 15 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Tom Layton
7 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Conservative MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Murdo Fraser, said Manivannan would do well to remember voters rather than look for roles outwith the constituency.
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Also by Tom Layton
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 7 articles by Tom Layton →

Topics

Fife Greens Indian St Andrews University Tamil

Subjects

Manivannan PERSON · 7× Fife GPE · 3× Q Manivannan PERSON · 3× John Cleese PERSON · 2× St Andrews University ORG · 2× Edinburgh GPE · 1× Greens ORG · 1× Indian NORP · 1× Lothians East GPE · 1× Tamil NORP · 1×

Narrative

Manivannan has faced no shortage of controversy since becoming an MSP ‘With his colleague Maggie Chapman already in a similar position, the last thing we need is another extremist Green in a prominent position at another one of Scotland’s universities.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-13
🔮 Conservative MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Murdo Fraser, said Manivannan would do well to remember voters rather than look for roles outwith the constituency.

Claims (19 extracted, 0 hedged)

Former St Andrews University rector John Cleese has slapped down a controversial Greens MSP’s bid for the role. asserted
Cleese → slap → role
The Monty Python star accused self-confessed ‘queer Tamil immigrant’ Q Manivannan of trying to ‘understate the appalling psychological effects of rape’. asserted
star → accuse → rape
His comments followed the rookie Parliamentarian’s suggestion rape was a ‘spectrum of things’ and had been ‘demonised’ during a podcast last year. asserted
rape → follow → podcast
Indian-born Manivannan, who has no permanent right to stay in the UK, is also accused of ignoring his voters having failed to hold surgeries for the first months of their tenure as the MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East. asserted
who → bear → Edinburgh
Writing on social media, Mr Cleese urged students at the Fife university not to back Manivannan. asserted
Cleese → write → Manivannan
He said: ‘As a former rector of St Andrews University I respectfully urge its students not to support someone who tries to understate the appalling psychological effects of rape.’ asserted
who → say → rape
Conservative MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Murdo Fraser, said Manivannan would do well to remember voters rather than look for roles outwith the constituency. asserted
Manivannan → say → constituency
He added: ‘This decision is a slap in the face to the constituents of this Scottish Greens MSP. ‘ asserted
decision → add → MSP
Since being elected Q Manivannan seems to have forgotten to hold local surgeries and raise the issues that matter to the people who elected him, but has time to be the rector of a university outwith his region. asserted
who → elect → region
John Cleese urged students at the Fife university not to back Manivannan Q asserted
Cleese → urge → Manivannan
Manivannan has faced no shortage of controversy since becoming an MSP ‘With his colleague Maggie Chapman already in a similar position, the last thing we need is another extremist Green in a prominent position at another one of Scotland’s universities. asserted
we → face → universities
‘Q Manivannan should ditch this campaign and get back to focusing on being an MSP, which should be seen as an honour, not something to be done half-heartedly.’ asserted
which → ditch → honour
In August, a surprised constituent was told by Manivannan’s sheepish staff: ‘Q is currently in the process of establishing their permanent staff so at present we are unable to hold surgeries although we do hope to have some later in the year.’ asserted
we → tell → year
After the rape comments were made public earlier this year, the MSP who identifies as non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, insisted the podcast had been ‘selectively edited’ but said ‘sorry’ for the impact of the words. asserted
podcast → make → words
Other candidates for the rector’s position include The Office actor Brian Baumgartner, Ministry of Defence analyst Dr Arthur Bernhoff and a student doctor, Dr Edison Yau. asserted
candidates → include → Defence
Manivannan said on social media: ‘For our wee bubble, I’m running to be the University of St Andrews’ new Rector. asserted
I → say → Andrews
Alongside the space I occupy as an MSP, I will bring a chance for our wee town to grow and thrive while rectifying the many injustices being permitted in our name (including to our current rector Stella Maris).’ asserted
town → occupy → rector
Ms Maris, who is not running, has been involved in a dispute with the institution after she was removed from the university court over comments she made on the Israel-Gaza war, although she won an appeal nine months later. asserted
she → run → appeal
The Scottish Greens have been contacted for comment. asserted
Greens → contact → comment
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