UNIVERSITY union the UCU demanded answers today after the principal of one of Britain’s wealthiest universities warned staff that “nothing is off the table” in the quest to cut costs.

University of Edinburgh principal Professor Sir Peter Mathieson emailed staff on Tuesday to inform them he had extended the period to allow applications for voluntary redundancy.

He said: “The gap that needs to be closed to secure the university’s financial sustainability is large enough and urgent enough for us to have to confront the likelihood that other measures will be needed in the near future.