The Education Secretary has emphasised that academics “should be free to express a wide range of views” even if it upsets others.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Bridget Phillipson said the Government is “absolutely committed to freedom of speech and academic freedom” and wants universities to be “places of intellectual challenge and rigour, where people will be exposed to views with which they may disagree”.
The Minister made the comments in response to criticism of her decision to shelve the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act. The legislation would have established a complaints scheme for students, staff and speakers, enabling them to seek compensation if they were “cancelled” on campus.
‘Enormous’
Shadow Secretary of State for Education Laura Trott said: “Since the Secretary of State decided to pause this legislation, gender-critical women, among others, have racked up enormous legal fees, which have caused some to remortgage their houses.
“Professor Jo Phoenix has said publicly that if it had been in force, the Act would have saved her that precise ordeal. Inaction has consequences, and this delay is causing harm.”
According to The Times, ministers are considering whether to reinstate the Act without allowing academics and students to pursue legal action for damages.
The Free Speech Union has a judicial review hearing set for next month on the Act’s shelving, after a High Court judge agreed it was in the “public interest” to resolve this promptly.
Self-censorship
Earlier this month, a global survey revealed that almost eight in ten university staff believe that free speech has become more restricted in the last decade.
Of 452 respondents across 28 countries surveyed by Times Higher Education, 77 per cent agreed that academic freedom of speech is more limited than it was ten years ago. Only 12 per cent disagreed, with 11 per cent undecided.
The view was particularly strong in psychology and clinical health, where “sex and gender issues loom large”.
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