Letters

Letters We’ve Written Defending People’s Right to Free Speech

Letter to the Metropolitan Police concerning the arrest of Hatun Tash

Hatun Tash, the evangelical Christian preacher and member of the Free Speech Union, was arrested at Speakers’ Corner on Sunday, the third time she’s been arrested in two years. She was dragged off by a group of police officers, taken to Charing Cross police station, strip searched, interviewed, kept overnight in a cell and then released without charge. To cap it all, the day she was released – Monday, 27th

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Letter to Nadim Zahawi MP and Michelle Donelan MP thanking them for introducing two vital amendments we campaigned for to the Higher Education Bill

We’ve written to the Education Secretary and the Universities Minister to thank them for introducing two amendments that we campaigned for – removing the caveat “within their field of expertise” from Clause 1, so the new free speech protections apply to academics regardless of whether their speaking or writing about something within their field of expertise or not, and making it harder for “security costs” to be cited by universities

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Letter to the Vice Chancellor of Loughborough University about the expulsion of Dr Jon Pike from a seminar for expressing gender critical views

We’ve written to the Vice-Chancellor of Loughborough University, Professor Nick Jennings, after our member, Dr Jon Pike of the Open University, was removed from a seminar on ‘trans inclusion in women’s sport’ for asking questions about the fairness of allowing biological men to compete against female athletes. Dr Pike is a world-leading expert in this area and his expertise has been sought by numerous international sports bodies. We consider this

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Letter to the Vice Chancellor of Aberdeen about the no-platforming of Alex Salmond

We’ve written to Professor George Boyne, the Principal and Vice Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen, about the no-platforming of Alex Salmond on 22nd April. Mr Salmond had been invited to speak at the Aberdeen University Student Golf Club, but the invitation was rescinded after student activists objected that because Mr Salmond is opposed to Scotland’s Gender Recognition Reform Bill – which will make it easier for trans people to

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Letter objecting to the Home Office asking its staff to state their pronouns in email signatures

We’ve written to Matthew Rycroft CBE, the Permanent Secretary at the Home Office, to complain about a directive to Home Office staff to include their pronouns in their email signatures. We are concerned that this instruction, which appears to be mandatory, is a form of compelled speech that violates the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion and the right to free speech (Articles 9 and 10 of the

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Letter to the Chief Executive of Great Ormond Street Hospital about the no-platforming of Helen Joyce

We’ve written to the Chief Executive of Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust asking him to apologise to the author and journalist Helen Joyce after she was no-platformed at a one-day conference for trainee NHS psychiatrists about the treatment of adolescents with gender dysphoria. Dr Joyce was due to speak on one of the panels, but was disinvited after transactivists who were due to appear at the conference

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Letter to the Provost of Worcester about ill-judged apology to students for allowing Christian group to hold conference on college facilities

We’ve written to Mr David Isaac CBE, the Provost of Worcester College, Oxford, asking him to retract his apology to students after they complained about the use of College facilities by the Wilberforce Academy, a summer school run by Christian Concern, and withdraw the ban he imposed on further bookings by the Academy. He apologised last year – and announced the ban – after students accused the attendees of the

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