Britain’s Royal Institution looks to be experiencing a nasty bout of infighting, if the Guardian newspaper is to be believed.

Unnamed senior figures in the RI – which styles itself “the oldest independent research body in the world” – are apparently plotting an overhaul that could force out the Institution’s controversial head Susan Greenfield.

The paper says:

The management advisory committee said the director’s job should be sacrificed or “much reduced” during a review of senior roles to be completed by the end of the month. The plans were drawn up to save money at the institution amid the financial downturn.

…

One source familiar with the proposals described them as a “disgraceful” and suggested a small “cabal” of advisers opposed Greenfield’s moves to modernise the oldest independent research organisation in the world.

Neuroscientist Greenfield often divides opinion. She also has a high public profile. When she was not elected to the prestigious Royal Society it generated stories in all the major papers. Likewise, she made headlines after appearing to suggest that social networking websites were changing people’s brains.

As the Guardian notes, Greenfield has also tried to reform the sometimes stuffy RI, overseeing a major makeover of its swish London venue.

The Institution says it is not commenting on the paper’s allegations at the moment.