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…..the Free Speech Union said of the fines: “The blanket ban on any behaviour ‘likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress’ is a draconian measure wide open to abuse. It may be the council only intends to enforce the PSPO in certain cases of legitimately anti-social conduct.”
Antony Clements-Thrower, The Mirror, 9th August 2024.
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The Free Speech Union, a mass membership organisation, is seeking a judicial review of Phillipson’s decision to stop its commencement. Campus free speech groups are gathering signatories for a letter asking her to reconsider. “Free speech duties on universities have long been neglected, despite being enshrined in law,” they write. “Hundreds of academics and students have been hounded, censured, silenced or even sacked over the last 20 years for the expression of legal opinions.”
Helen Joyce, The Times, 9th August 2024.
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The Free Speech Union, which campaigns against restrictions to individual liberty, has written to the council ahead of launching a potential lawsuit unless it changes course. The campaign group argues that the Thanet PSPO could criminalise, for example, a legitimate political protest outside the council offices, or a religious preacher standing in the town centre giving a sermon on “Christian beliefs about sexuality”
Henry Bodkin, The Telegraph, 9th August 2024.
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The Free Speech Union has threatened to legally challenge the council’s new rule, with a spokesperson for the group saying: ‘For example, the PSPO prohibits ‘causing a disturbance to others’ – this has clear implications for lawful protest..
Frankie Elliott, Mail Online, 9th August 2024.
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As the General Secretary of the Free Speech Union, Toby Young, pointed out last year for the Spectator, even if during lockdown the CDU may not have gone beyond monitoring journalistic activities, in the absence of a statutory footing and all the attendant Parliamentary oversight and democratic accountability, “What’s to stop them going further next time?”
Freddie Attenborough, The Critic, 8th August 2024.
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The Free Speech Union has threatened to legally challenge the council’s new rule, which it sees as an “unreasonable and probably unlawful” restriction on their right to freedom of expression.
Ethan Singh, The Sun, 8th August 2024.
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Toby Young, the Director of the Free Speech Union, accused the Government of attacking the law in the middle of “a free speech crisis in our universities”.
The Christian Institute, 3rd August 2024.
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The Free Speech Union has threatened to launch a judicial review against Bridget Phillipson after she halted new protections for academics just days before they were due to come into force.
Poppy Wood, The Telegraph, 2nd August 2024.
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Toby Young of the Free Speech Union said: “This is an act of vandalism by the Government. This was a very carefully crafted Act designed to address the free speech crisis in our universities that commanded cross-party support. Clearly, the Labour Party is determined to reignite a culture war issue that had been settled by the last Government.”
Alex Ward, The Daily Mail, 29th July 2024.
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I was a little shocked by Bridget Phillipson’s decision to torpedo the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act on Friday.
In justifying this act of vandalism, the Education Secretary said the legislation would have imposed a “burdensome” new duty on universities to uphold free speech, trumping their obligations to protect the “safety and well-being of minority groups”.
Toby Young, The Critic, 29th July 2024.
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