Sir Howard Newby had previously been vice-chancellor at the University of the West of England (UWE) in Bristol, where he implemented a number of unpopular cuts. He also brought in management consultants which were linked (according to Private Eye, The Guardian and the Times Higher Education) to either or both himself and his wife, Lady Sheila Newby (who also worked at UWE). Similar concerns have been raised at Liverpool.
It seems to be the management consultant issue which drew the ire of Mr Ryan - the claims of defamation he made to WordPress.com related to blog posts that referred to Sir Howard's relationship with consultancy firms including Spirit of Creation Ltd and Carter & Carter Ltd.
So why is the University of Liverpool getting involved? Is Kevan Ryan acting on behalf of the University, Sir Howard Newby, or some other party? And why are blog posts from two-and-a-half years ago being dug up?
Is there something afoot which Liverpool University, Kevan Ryan, Sir Howard or Lady Sheila don't want to disturb?
Further reading:
 http://thebristolblogger.wordpress.com/
 http://ecologics.wordpress.com/
 http://sirhowardnewbywatch.wordpress.com/ [still offline]
There are a number of articles and useful links relating to this issue here:
 http://bristle.wordpress.com/category/%c2%bb-complexes/%c2%bb-serious-shizzle/%c2%bb-campaigns-projects/bristolbloggergate-%c2%bb-campaigns-projects-%c2%bb-serious-shizzle-%c2%bb-complexes/