Oxford University under fire as it retweets criticism of 'bitter' Labour MP David Lammy for his attack on ‘entrenched white elite’

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David Lammy (pictured) received an apology from the university after it retweeted a post calling his criticism bitter 

Oxford University apologised to David Lammy for retweeting a student who called the Tottenham MP's criticism  of the institution 'bitter'.

The Labour politician called the institution 'a bastion of white, upper class, southern privilege'.

He asked if it was the university's official position that he was bitter after its account retweeted a post from student Liam Beadle.

Mr Beadle had branded the MP's criticism of Oxford as 'bang out of order' and said he was a student from inner-city northern England as he cited a tweet from the MP similar to earlier remark on Radio 4.

But a senior staff member apologised and took responsibility after Mr Lammy questioned the decision at the university, where just 11 per cent of last year's undergraduates were from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Director of public affairs Ceri Thomas performed a total U-turn, writing that the MP's comments showed 'no sign of bitterness' and agreed work needed to be done to improve diversity. 

The politician's criticisms came as the university's own data revealed about a third of its colleges had accepted three or fewer black applicants over the last three years.

Oxford University had said it was 'not getting the right number of black people with the talent to apply'.

The proportion of students identifying as black and minority ethnic was 18 per cent last year, up from 14 per cent in 2013.

There was a slight increase in the number of admissions from state schools during the same period, from 57 per cent to 58 per cent.

The Tweet Liam Beadle quoted was similar to remarks Mr Lammy had made on the BBC's Radio 4 Today programme 

Mr Lammy told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'The progress is glacial. The truth is that Oxford is still a bastion of white, middle class, southern privilege. That is what it is.

'They have to explain why you are twice as likely to get in if you are white as if you are black and why you are more likely to get in if you are from the South than the North of England when you apply.

'Thirty black pupils applied for computing last year. Not one of them gets in. Are we really saying there isn’t a black student in Britain who can apply for computing who is worth a place at Oxford? Surely not.'

Samina Khan, the director of undergraduate admissions, acknowledged white British students were twice as likely to be admitted as black British students, but said the university was working hard to change.

'The reason for that is that you are looking a very different applicant pools. One is very large - that is the white pool in terms of who gets three As and above (at a A-level) - and the other one is very small,' she told the Today programme.

'We are not getting the right number of black people with the talent to apply to us and that is why we are pushing very hard on our outreach activity to make sure we make them feel welcome and they realise Oxford is for them.'

Mr Lammy came under fire from a northern student after describing Oxford as a centre of southern privilege 

The measures included an expansion of its UNIQ spring and summer schools, which work with students from under-represented backgrounds.

'We are doubling the UNIQ summer school. We know it works. It is targeted at disadvantaged students and once they are on it and they apply to Oxford they are more likely to get a place from compared to the rest of the UK population,' Ms Khan said.

'Progress is much better than most people think. We will continue to work hard. I think the expansion of UNIQ, so that we are bringing 1,350 students to the university every year, will increase the pace of change.'  

The figures also revealed geography has replaced classics as the favoured subject among its most privileged students. 

Oxford is currently under fresh attack for failing to open up places to students from disadvantaged and ethnic minority backgrounds.

Geography has replaced classics as the favoured subject among Oxford University's most privileged students, new figures have revealed

The latest annual admissions statistics report by the university showed just 11 per cent of UK undergraduates came from disadvantaged areas, up from seven per cent in 2013. 

Mr Lammy, who has repeatedly criticised Oxford and Cambridge over their records on admissions, said the figures showed little had changed in recent years.

The Times reports that only 12 students from disadvantaged backgrounds are on Oxford's geography course, less than six per cent of the total. Of the 204 students on the course, 192 are from the three higher social groups and more than half of those are from private schools.

Just 23 underprivileged students are taking a Classics course, 7.5 per cent of the total. The most popular subjects among disadvantaged students are biomedical sciences and physics. 

 Oxford is currently under fresh attack for failing to open up places to students from disadvantaged and ethnic minority backgrounds. Labour MP David Lammy, who has repeatedly criticised Oxford and Cambridge over their records on admissions, said the figures showed little had changed in recent years