Government delays fines for violating freedom of expression at universities

The government has suspended controversial new powers allowing universities and student unions to be fined for breaching freedom of expression.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said it would give time to consider whether the law, which was due to come into force next week, would be repealed.

In her statement to Parliament, Ms Phillipson also said the Office for Students (Ofs) should be “more focused” on the financial stability of universities.

A review of the regulator by Sir David Behan recommends that the government review the structure of the Ofs to end the perception that it is “not sufficiently independent”.

Sir David was appointed interim chairman, following the resignation of Conservative peer Lord Wharton last week.

The Higher Education Freedom of Expression Act, passed last year, states that universities have a duty to “ensure” and “promote the importance” of freedom of speech and academic expression.

This would have allowed the Ofs to fine or sanction higher education providers and student unions in England from next week.

It also includes a new complaints system for students, staff and visiting speakers, who can seek compensation if they experience a breach of a university’s freedom of expression obligations.

Bridget Phillipson told the BBC on Monday that the culture wars on college campuses “end here.”

A government source told the BBC that the law would have opened the way for Holocaust deniers to be admitted to campus and constituted an “anti-Semitic charter”.

Under pre-existing legislation, universities will still have a legal obligation to defend freedom of expression.