Peter Florence, the director of the event since its inception, has been signed off pending the outcome of a grievance procedure
Peter Florence, the founder and director of the Hay festival, has been suspended from his position after allegations of bullying from a staff member.
The festival’s chair, Caroline Michel, said that Florence was suspended on 1 October “pending the outcome of a grievance procedure initiated by one of our staff”. He has since been signed off sick, and Michel said in a statement that she was “not at liberty to offer any further comment on personnel issues until this matter is resolved”.