But not every FRS approves of Bishop’s decision, and some have told The Telegraph, anonymously, that they support Musk’s fellowship (bestowed on the entrepreneur in 2018 for his technological achievements, most notably in space travel and electric vehicle development). They will not voice their support in public, they say, for fear of being ostracised – not least due to the unpopularity of defending Musk’s position on climate change.

A former member of the RS ruling Council, Brian Foster, who is a professor of experimental physics at Oxford University, told The Telegraph that he was not a signatory but had raised concerns. “The mistake was to have elected [Musk] in the first place but we elect people on the basis of their scientific and technological achievements, not whether they are nice people or how they behave in non-scientific or political arenas,” he says.