Government accused of U-turn over decision to revive Tory free speech laws
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The education secretary has been accused of a U-turn after she decided to proceed with controversial free speech laws brought in by the Conservatives. Bridget Phillipson paused The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 last summer with a view to repealing what Whitehall sources at the time labelled a "hate speech charter".
The act, which was due to come into force in August, could have seen universities and student unions fined if they failed to uphold freedom of speech on campus. But in the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon, Ms Phillipson said the government would now go ahead with the legislation because academic freedom was "much more important than the wishes of some students not to be offended".
Politics latest: Starmer backs Reeves as pound rises back up. "The ability of our academics to explore and express new ideas through teaching and research is precious and we must protect it," she told MPs. "And these fundamental freedoms are more important - much more important - than the wishes of some students not to be offended. University is a place for ideas to be exposed and debated, to be tried and tested.".
In response, shadow education secretary Laura Trott said there was now "confusion" over the Act and added: "It seems this government can't even do a much-needed U-turn properly.". Follow our channel and never miss an update. The Conservatives introduced the Freedom of Speech Act in a bid to address concerns of "cancel culture" at universities when speakers are denied a platform over controversial views they hold.
