Coup bid fails at Royal Institution

THE ruling council of the Royal Institution survived an attempted coup last night, aimed at replacing the leadership. A spokeswoman for the 211-year-old scientific body said 81 per cent of members had voted against a resolution to overthrow the leadership.

Supporters of former director Baroness Greenfield, a distinguished neuroscientist, had called the meeting in a bid to hold the council to account for "wrongly blaming" her for the institution's funding problems.

If successful, the challenge could have paved the way for the return of Lady Greenfield to the institution.