SCRAPPING CANCEL CULTURE LAW ‘PUTS CAMPUS FREE SPEECH IN PERIL’, LABOUR WARNED
Scrapping a law to tackle cancel culture at universities will put free speech “in peril”, the Government has been warned.
Bridget Phillipson revealed she has pulled the plug on the law designed to protect academics from being no-platformed or forced out over their views.
The Education Secretary will now consider repealing the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 just days before it was due to come into force.
Experts warned the move could leave academics unprotected against cancel culture on campus, with a new complaints scheme for those who have been “no-platformed” expected to be axed.
Akua Reindorf, a barrister and Equality and Human Rights commissioner, said she was shocked by the move. “The Act was not perfect, but it’s quite evident that free speech and academic freedom are in peril in universities,” she said.
“I’m surprised and shocked that Bridget Phillipson has announced that the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 won’t come into force on 1 August and may be repealed.”
Under the flagship Tory policy, universities, colleges and student unions would have been required to actively promote free speech on campus.
Those found to have breached academics’ right to free speech would face sanctions by the universities regulator and possible fines.
Academics and students would also be able to seek compensation through the courts if they suffered financial loss after being expelled, dismissed or demoted. The protections would cover any visiting speakers whose invitations were rescinded following student protests.
It was introduced after a series of rows over the so-called cancellation of academics and students over their views. They include Dr Kathleen Stock, a philosophy professor, who resigned from Sussex University in 2021 after what she described as a witch-hunt over her views on transgender issues.
Labour’s decision to pause and potentially repeal the scheme will be seen as a major watering down of free speech protections ushered in by the previous government.
Tom Tugendhat, one of the frontrunners in the Tory leadership race, told The Telegraph that the Government had “caved into” universities that appear “unable to stand up for freedom of expression”.
“Freedom of speech is sacrosanct. If we can’t challenge each other we can’t learn or progress as a society,” he said.
“This was a good Bill, passed by the last Parliament to tackle a real issue on our university campuses. It’s disgraceful that Labour has paused it with no democratic debate or accountability. They’ve caved into universities who have shown themselves unwilling, or unable, to stand up for freedom of expression.”
James Cleverly, another Tory leadership contender, said: “Free speech is a core British value, at the heart of our liberal and democratic society.
“Education must be free from cancel culture. Our freedoms are under threat under Labour.”
The law was due to come into force next week and would have handed new powers to Prof Arif Ahmed, who was appointed the Government’s first-ever “free speech tsar” in 2023.
The former Cambridge philosophy professor has spent the past year designing a new complaints scheme to implement the laws. It would have allowed him to take submissions from academics who have been cancelled over their personal beliefs.
However, Prof Ahmed’s position now faces serious uncertainty amid growing expectations the entire scheme will be scrapped. The Telegraph understands he could be moved to another position within the Office for Students (OfS), the higher education regulator, if he does not resign outright.
In a statement announcing her decision to shelve the Act on Friday, the Education Secretary said that “for too long, universities have been a political battlefield”.
“We are absolutely committed to freedom of speech and academic freedom, but the Free Speech Act introduced last year is not fit for purpose and risked imposing serious burdens on our world-class universities,” she said.
The Telegraph understands Labour also had concerns the free speech laws could leave universities open to being sued at a time when many face crippling cost pressures.
Ministers are understood to be holding cross-government crisis talks about the future of several universities amid fears that some could be pushed under in the coming months.
About 40 per cent of universities in England are expected to run budget deficits this year, with many top institutions thought to be exploring possible mergers to rescue their peers.
The Russell Group of elite institutions welcomed Labour’s decision to pause the legislation, noting that universities already had a legal duty to protect free speech and that extra laws could create unnecessary paperwork.
“Matters relating to freedom of speech can be complex, particularly when cases interact with other legal duties such as equality law. It’s right that the Government has decided to take more time to consider its options,” the group said.
Labour also claimed the intervention was to protect “vulnerable groups and Jewish students”, and to save universities from “costly legal action”.
Phil Rosenberg, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said that although “well-intentioned”, the Act “risked enabling anti-Semitic extremists to access university campuses by severely impacting the ability of universities to block their presence”.
Whitehall sources also suggested the free speech laws would have unintentionally created protections for alleged hate speech on campus. They claimed the legislation may have built a platform for people like Tommy Robinson, the founder of the English Defence League, David Irving, a prominent Holocaust denier, and Geert Wilders, the leader of the Dutch far-Right Freedom party who was sworn into government earlier this month.
Prof Ahmed, who has always insisted the scheme would only protect freedom of speech under the law, is likely to resist the claims. A number of existing UK laws already outlaw hate speech, including language that incites “racial and religious hatred”, “hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation” and speech that “encourages terrorism”.
However, the Free Speech Union, led by former journalist Toby Young, has vowed to launch legal action against the Government.
“There is a free speech crisis in our universities, as has been widely acknowledged, and this Act, which enjoyed cross-party support, was designed to remedy that,” it said in a statement
“The Government’s attack on the Freedom of Speech Act is shocking. If Labour refuses to commence legislation passed in the last parliament, the Free Speech Union will bring judicial review proceedings.”
A No 10 spokesman said the decision to pause the legislation had been taken “in response to concerns that have been raised in the university sector”.
Asked about criticism of the move as a threat to free speech on campuses, she replied: “I disagree with that characterisation. It’s right to listen to concerns and to take stock.”
2024-07-26T11:33:28Z dg43tfdfdgfd