The incident is believed to have taken place on a roundabout at Oxford Business Park, off Alec Issigonis Way, where landscaping works were carried out earlier last month.

The concern centres on whether the routine works may have interfered with an active badger sett, potentially putting any animals and their young at risk.

(Image: ANNETTEPYRAH / Getty)

Badgers and their setts are protected under law, making it an offence to damage, destroy or obstruct access to an active sett.

An anonymous eyewitness said they initially found what they believed to be an active sett or earth on the roundabout, pointing to paw prints as evidence of recent use.

They said that when they returned the following day, an apparent attempt had been made to fill in the entrance.

Badger sett on an Oxfordshire business park (Image: Anonymous)

On a later visit, they claimed the area had been deliberately flooded, leaving the ground sodden and what remained of the sett filled with water.

They described the alleged incident as “illegal, inhumane and reckless behaviour”, adding the “poor creatures may have been drowned”.

Badger sett allegedly filled in (Image: Anonymous)

However, the campus has strongly denied any wrongdoing saying they “take wildlife and environmental matters extremely seriously”.

It said routine landscape maintenance works, including the removal of shrub vegetation, had been carried out in preparation of the area being turfed.

It said: “These types of maintenance activities do not require planning permission or ecological surveys, however the landscaping teams always carry out visual inspections to ensure best practice for wildlife management is maintained and in this instance, there was no evidence of a badger sett.”

They added that all construction projects on the campus are supported by ecological assessments carried out by qualified consultants and that “recent assessments have found no evidence of badger setts or badger activity on the campus or in the vicinity of the roundabout”.

The spokesperson said it remains committed to protecting local wildlife in line with relevant legislation, adding that the concerns raised had been reviewed.

Should any evidence emerge of a protected species being present, the campus said it would seek specialist ecological advice and take appropriate action.

Linda Ward, secretary and trustee of Oxfordshire Badger Group, said she was grateful to the member of the public who first reported the potential wildlife crime.

She said: “We hope the police will investigate as a matter of urgency to confirm that no animals have been harmed. We ask everyone to monitor their local badger setts and report any concerns without delay.”

Thames Valley Police is investigating the report but no arrests have been made.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the force on 101 quoting reference 43260301923.

SOFIAH NICHOLE SALIVIO

News Editor

LumApps has appointed Si-Mohamed Said as Chief Product Strategy & Growth Officer, adding a senior enterprise software executive to its leadership team.

He will lead product and offering strategy, oversee growth efforts across the business, and direct LumApps’ global go-to-market work. The appointment follows the launch of LumApps AI, which the company describes as an AI Employee Hub.

Said recently advised the strategic launch of LumApps AI before taking the executive post. His remit will cover the next phase of product and commercial development as LumApps expands internationally.

He joins with experience across large software groups and scale-up businesses. Before LumApps, he spent nearly 20 years at SAP, where he served as Global Vice President and led global product launches across the portfolio, including the company’s flagship ERP product.

Earlier in his career, he led Oracle’s marketing and digital organisation across the ECEMEA region. He later held executive leadership roles as Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Product Officer at B2B software scale-ups.

Growth remit

The role combines responsibility for product strategy with growth execution across markets and customer segments. LumApps positions its platform as a workplace hub that connects employees with tools, information, and communications, and says it integrates with Google Workspace and Microsoft 365.

According to the company, the platform serves more than 10 million users worldwide and has been recognised as a Leader in intranets by Gartner and Forrester.

Said framed the role around the broader adoption of artificial intelligence in day-to-day work.

“AI is reshaping how every business operates, and every employee should be able to benefit from it in their daily work,” said Si-Mohamed Said, Chief Product Strategy & Growth Officer at LumApps.

“LumApps has everything it takes to lead this transformation: a differentiated AI Employee Hub, a strong customer base, exceptional market momentum, and a clear vision for turning AI investment into everyday adoption. I’m excited to help organisations bring the value of AI to every employee, across every line of business and every industry.”

Executive build-out

The appointment adds to LumApps’ recent efforts to strengthen its executive bench as competition intensifies around workplace software and AI tools. Across the sector, businesses are trying to show that AI products can move beyond pilot projects and become part of routine employee workflows.

For LumApps, that means linking product planning more closely with commercial expansion. Said will focus on building growth engines across the business while shaping how products and offerings are taken to market globally.

Chief Executive Officer Sébastien Ricard said the hire reflects a broader approach to building the company through internal development and external expertise.

“Our strategy has always combined strong internal innovation with the ability to bring the best expertise into LumApps,” said Sébastien Ricard, Chief Executive Officer at LumApps.

“From strategic acquisitions to executive talent, every decision we make is driven by the same ambition: building the global leader in AI-powered employee experience. Simo’s arrival is an important step in that journey.”

LumApps says its AI offering is designed as a hub where people and software agents work together on everyday tasks and workflows. It argues that this model gives organisations a clearer route from AI spending to broader workforce adoption.

Said’s arrival gives LumApps a senior executive with experience spanning product launches, regional marketing operations, and commercial leadership in enterprise software. His remit now centres on shaping product strategy and leading the company’s worldwide go-to-market effort.

Morrisons has shut its first of 100 Daily stores as its closure programme begins.

The first was its branch in Crockhamwell Road in Woodley, Berkshire, which became a Morrisons Daily in November 2024 before closing last week.

Its Post Office also shut after operating from the road for around 60 years and it is understood to be looking for replacement shops that could host services in affected communities.

READ MORE:

52 Post Office branches to shut due to Morrisons Daily closures

Oxfordshire Morrisons not part of UK closures

The closures affect at least 52 Post Office branches across England, Wales and Scotland, with many of the affected sited in southern England.

The affected stores have been unprofitable for years and were former McColl’s shops which the chain rescued in a £190 million takeover in 2022.

The proposals will see stores closed in the next few months and hundreds of shop workers are understood to be at risk of redundancy.

However, it has been confirmed Morrisons will not close any of its Oxfordshire shops, cafes, florists of pharmacies this year.

Morrisons has around 1,700 convenience shops as well as about 500 supermarkets, and employs some 95,000 staff.

There are Morrisons supermarkets in Banbury, Carterton and Faringdon as well as Morrisons Daily stores in Oxford, Abingdon, Thame and Banbury.