Counter-terrorism and security bill is a threat to freedom of speech at universities
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Version 0 of 1. We are deeply concerned that the counter-terrorism and security bill currently being debated in parliament will place an unlawful and unenforceable duty on educational institutions and staff. One of the purposes of post-compulsory education is to foster critical thinking in staff, students and society more widely. Our universities and colleges are centres for debate and open discussion, where received wisdom can be challenged and controversial ideas put forward in the spirit of academic endeavour. This principle of academic freedom is enshrined in the Education (No 2) Act 1986, which places a duty on universities and colleges to “ensure that freedom of speech within the law is secured for members, students and employees of the establishment and for visiting speakers”. Part 5 of the new legislation would place a statutory duty on those same institutions to prevent students being drawn into terrorism. We share the concerns raised by the joint committee on human rights about how this duty would work alongside existing requirements to ensure freedom of speech. Universities take their duty of care towards students very seriously, and guidance is already in place to combat extremism in academic settings. This proposed legislation is both unnecessary and ill-conceived, and we are calling on the government to urgently rethink its proposals and take appropriate steps to ensure that academic freedom remains uncompromised by any efforts to tackle extremism in the UK. The best response to acts of terror against UK civilians is to maintain and defend an open, democratic society in which discriminatory behaviour of any kind is effectively challenged. Ensuring colleges and universities can continue to debate difficult and unpopular issues is a vital part of this. Draconian crackdowns on the rights of academics and students will not achieve the ends the government says it seeks.Professor Wendy James Professor Laura Mulvey Professor Geoffrey Alderman Professor Tom Kibble Professor Jon Kentish Professor Peter Emery Professor Paul Gilroy Professor Douwe Korff Professor Julian Rushton Professor Kate Oakley Professor Rodney Barker Professor Katy Gardner Professor Eleanor Riley Professor Eric Clarke Professor Robin Cohen Professor Dorothy Edgington Professor Richard Compton Professor Dan Stone Professor Philip Steadman Professor Christine Orengo Professor Elizabeth Dowler Professor John Ball Professor Hermione Lee Professor Tony Cass Professor Martha Mundy Professor Patience Alexandra Schell Professor Adam Price Professor Richard Aspden Professor Jon Collinson Professor David Anderson Professor Paul Hallett Professor Lynda Erskine Professor Michael Keating Professor Peter Teismann Professor Timothy Ingold Professor Colin John McInnes Professor David Ian Rabey Professor Richard Hinchliffe Professor Lynn Hodgkinson Professor Anna Bull Professor Hartmut Logemann Professor Mike Threadgill Professor Fiona Macmillan Professor Steve Maybank Professor Bob Owens Professor Karin Barber Professor David Gillborn Professor John A Barnden Professor Karen Rowlingson Professor Naomi Standen Professor John Mohan Professor Michael Overduin Professor Hywel Thomas Professor Michael Dobson Professor Colin Thain Professor Rob Campbell Professor Jonathan Parker Professor Tony Royle Professor Donna Pankhurst Professor Christoph Bluth Professor John Sweeney Professor Raf Salkie Professor Deborah Philips Professor Jorg Huber Professor Tony Prosser Professor Ken Oliphant Professor Jeffrey Bowers Professor Tariq Modood Professor Colin Davis Professor Toby Knowles Professor Tonia Novitz Professor Justin Dillon Professor Steven Greer Professor Peter Green Professor Morag McDermont Professor Chris Bertram Professor Mark Dennis Professor Robert Macredie Professor Julian Petley Professor Geoff King Professor Harvey Goldstein Professor Allison Drew Professor John Rogerson Professor Jane Rogers Professor Jonathan Liu Professor Dave Hill Professor Neil Mercer Professor Neil Dodgson Professor Nabeel A Affara Professor John Bell Professor Christopher Hill Professor Malcolm Eames Professor Martin Huxley Professor Trevor Dale Professor Frank Sengpiel Professor Gareth Rees Professor Edmund Heery Professor Ian Jones Professor Susan Baker Professor Richard Carwardine Professor Neelam Jain Professor Andreas Fring Professor Peter Ayton Professor Bev Littlewood Professor David Asch Professor Trevor Buck Professor Murdo Macdonald Professor Paul Sillitoe Professor Andrew Pendleton Professor Walter Moberly Professor Gerard Loughlin Professor Robert Simpson Professor Stuart Weeks Professor Lena Dominelli Professor Andy Hamilton Professor Louise Amoore Professor Rob Dixon Professor Michael Bohlander Professor John McKinnell Professor Donald Fraser Professor Andy Clark Professor Douglas Cairns Professor Jonathan Silvertown Professor Tony Carbery Professor Francesca Bray Professor Steven Sturdy Professor Andrew Millar Professor Patricia Jeffery Professor Jason Reese Professor Peter Patrick Professor Peter Hulme Professor Philip Mullineaux Professor Florence Myles Professor Chris Cooper Professor Richard Seaford Professor Steve Hinchliffe Professor James Ryan Professor Jane Seale Professor Bridget Fowler Professor Catherine O’Donnell Professor Phil Trinder Professor Nigel Leask Professor Bill Sweeney Professor Willy Maley Professor Thomas Munck Professor Lindsay Farmer Professor Eleanor Gordon Professor Dennis Rodgers Professor Gerard Carruthers Professor Simon Garrod Professor Martin Newby Professor Peter Austin Professor Ted Schrecker Professor Michael Clemens Professor Ross King Professor Simon Clarke Professor Ziad Elmarsafy Professor Gargi Bhattacharyya Professor Jamie Angus Professor Elizabeth Eva Leach Professor John Barrell Professor David Peters Corbett Professor Kimberley Scharf Professor Fiona de Londras Professor Pat Caplan Professor Matthew Fuller Professor Bill Gaver Professor Frederic Fol Leymarie Professor Timothy Valentine Professor John Gillingham Professor Simon Edwards Professor Phil Gibbard Professor Hulya Dagdeviren Professor George Mair Professor Fredos Papangelou Professor Alan Simpson Professor Clive Sabel Professor Paul Ward Professor James M Connelly Professor Paul D Fletcher Professor Robin Pearson Professor David Crouch Professor Majid Yar Professor Ruth Aylett Professor Ian Thomson Professor Paul O’Higgins Professor Charles Sutcliffe Professor Henrik Jensen Professor Jerome P Gauntlett Professor William Matthew Colwyn Foulkes Professor Kim Parker Professor Paul French Professor Raymond Murray Professor Stephen Webster Professor Kellogg Stelle Professor Ulrik Egede Professor Ann Phoenix Professor Alistair Lax Professor John Howard Professor Yuri Safarov Professor David Treece Professor Javed Majeed Professor Helen Cox Professor David Papineau Professor Gordon McMullan Professor Charles Kelly Professor Chris Berry Professor David Edgerton Professor Rajmil Fischman Professor Scott McCracken Professor Ian Bell Professor Dominic Abrams Professor David Chadwick Professor Douglas MacMillan Professor Peter Read Professor Larry Ray Professor Ian Reader Professor Aneta Stefanovska Professor Ruth Wodak Professor Ray Jones Professor Fred Yeadon Professor Michael Pickering Professor Christopher Marrows Professor John Turner Professor Ben Whitaker Professor Anthony Cohn Professor David Parker Professor John Wood Professor Muhammed Basheer Professor Raymond Bush Professor Arun Holden Professor Martin Iddon Professor Steven French Professor Matthew Kieran Professor Kirsteen Kim Professor Martin Barstow Professor Jon Scott Professor Heiko Balzter Professor Melanie Simms Professor Jo Brewis Professor Martin Stannard Professor Chris Binns Professor Eve Rosenhaft Professor Mark Caddick Professor Richard Whittington Professor Charles Forsdick Professor Robin Crompton Professor Lasse Rempe-Gillen Professor Michael Clague Professor Jerry Turnbull Professor Andy Morse Professor Sam Davies Professor Francesca Klug Professor Jonathan Rosenhead Professor Stephan Feuchtwang Professor Anne Phillips Professor Janet Hunter Professor Conor Gearty Professor Gregory Sorkin Professor Maria-José Rodriguez-Salgado Professor Richard Hyman Professor Richard Hayes Professor Duska Rosenberg Professor Phil Page Professor Richard Gombrich Professor Neil Isaacs Professor Yiannis Gabriel Professor Peter Eccles Professor John O’Neill Professor Ian Plewis Professor Leon Aarons Professor Ludi Simpson Professor Paul Mummery Professor Helen Beebee Professor Peter Gatrell Professor Linda Davies Professor Mona Baker Professor Andrew Murray Professor Daniel Muzio Professor Martin Walker Professor Miguel Martinez Lucio Professor Dave Lewis Professor Pavel Buchler Professor Tim Kirk Professor Alexander Thiele Professor Michael Whitaker Professor Nicholas Miller Professor David Leat Professor Peter Stone Professor David Howard Professor Iain Munro Professor Jackie Leach Scully Professor Deborah Chambers Professor Sudipta Roy Professor Máire Cross Professor Kathryn Hollingsworth Professor Roger Goodman Professor Iain Sutcliffe Professor Ewa Dabrowska Professor Richard Wrigley Professor Stephen Hodkinson Professor Philip Moriarty Professor Howard Stevenson Professor Philip Shipway Professor John Ashworth Professor Andreas Bieler Professor John Holmwood Professor Martin Luck Professor William Dixon Professor Robert Jones Professor Maiken Umbach Professor Roberta Pearson Professor Rossano Balzaretti Professor Paul Nathanail Professor Peter Ling Professor Julia O’Connell Davidson Professor John Holford Professor Colin Harrison Professor Tony Wren Professor Tony Wren Professor Robert Dingwall Professor Alistair Mutch Professor Robert Ackrill Professor Paul Whysall Professor James Moore Professor Michael Wilkinson Professor Mike Sharples Professor Lorna Hardwick Professor Engin Isin Professor Anton van der Merwe Professor Andre Lukas Professor Chris Lintott Professor Robert Evans Professor Edmund Herzig Professor Brian Foster Professor David Marquand Professor Dave Stuart Professor Frances Platt Professor Jo-Anne Baird Professor Mark Whitehorn Professor Richard Ball Professor Andrew Turberfield Professor Richard Healey Professor Montserrat Guibernau Professor Hagit Borer Professor Kimberly Hutchings Professor Joad Raymond Professor Gerard Hanlon Professor Rosemary Hunter Professor Claire Elisabeth Preston Professor Beverley Milton-Edwards Professor Colin Harvey Professor Jorge Kohanoff Professor Sean Connolly Professor John Morison Professor Ian Montgomery Professor Paul Sharkey Professor Lib Taylor Professor Michael Shaw Professor Chris Guy Professor Laurence Harwood Professor Juliet John Professor William Chaloner Professor Robert Hampson Professor Mark Brown Professor Jonathan Gabe Professor Vanessa Martin Professor Mandy Merck Professor Khizar Ansari Professor Francis Robinson Professor Helen Graham Professor Justin Champion Professor Jefferson Frank Professor Gill Crozier Professor Del Loewenthal Professor Ian Haywood Professor Glyn Parry Professor Tina Beattie Professor Tim May Professor Newell James Professor Greg Woolf Professor Philip Butcher Professor Guy Whitley Professor Fionn Stevenson Professor Peter Totterdell Professor Ian Burgess Professor Dave Applebaum Professor Robert Harrison Professor Craig Brandist Professor Stuart Macdonald Professor Peter Blundell Jones Professor Eric Olson Professor Jenny Pickerill Professor Jonathan Joseph Professor Hilary Povey Professor Richard Black Professor Alfredo Saad Filho Professor Richard Fardon Professor Mashood Baderin Professor Annabelle Sreberny Professor Hugh Kennedy Professor Laurence Harris Professor Gilbert Achcar Professor George Hewitt Professor Charles Tripp Professor Jennifer Jenkins Professor Phillipa Reed Professor Colin Pritchard Professor Ian Leary Professor Peter Griffiths Professor Joanne Roberts Professor Yannis Hamilakis Professor Michael Kelly Professor Roger Ingham Professor John McGavin Professor Stephen Bygrave Professor Matthew Terry Professor Neil Gregor Professor Fabrice Pierron Professor Catherine Pope Professor Jane Aaron Professor Peter McCarthy Professor David Clark-Carter Professor Mario Aguilar Professor Tristan Platt Professor Raymond Hinnebusch Professor Stephen Reicher Professor Rob Gray Professor Roy Dilley Professor Howard Hotson Professor Ian Howarth Professor Colin McDiarmid Professor Alfons Weber Professor Alistair Jump Professor George Burt Professor Mark Priestley Professor John Drakakis Professor Claire Squires Professor Greville Corbett Professor Chris Flood Professor Bran Nicol Professor Justin Edwards Professor Allan Moore Professor Christ France Professor Marie Breen-Smyth Professor Malcolm Heggie Professor Nicholas Royle Professor Valerie Hey Professor Dai Stephens Professor Philip Harris Professor Jennifer Platt Professor Chris Allton Professor John Goodby Professor Maurice Whitehead Professor David Clarke Professor Jeff Adams Professor Lalage Bown Professor Cecile Laborde Professor Graham Scambler Professor Eric S Fraga Professor Alan Hughes Professor Mike Barlow Professor Philip Meredith Professor Riz Mokal Professor Paul Ruyssevelt Professor Richard Jackman Professor Jan-Peter Muller Professor Philippe Marliere Professor Jonathan Ashmore Professor Andrew Leak Professor Catherine Rowett Professor Rhys Jenkins Professor John Street Professor Stephen Cox Professor Nick Selby Professor Geoffrey Plank Professor Brian Sutcliffe Professor Bill Rolston Professor James Dooley Professor Rob Welch Professor George Kernohan Professor Finbarr O’Harte Professor Christian Fuchs Professor Peter Case Professor Guy Julier Professor Colin Rourke Professor Stuart Elden Professor Jane Hutton Professor Robert Freedman Professor Nick Hewlett Professor Thomas Docherty Professor Victor Tadros Professor Tony Arber Professor Julie Staunton Professor Andrew Reeve Professor Don Paul Professor Peter Stanfield Professor Matthew Watson Professor David Rand Professor Christopher Read Professor Beat Kumin Professor Jim Beckford Professor Dennis Leech Professor Andrew Easton Professor Derek Holt Professor Rob Bryer Professor Richard Taffler Professor Kim Hoque Professor Damien Ridge Professor Thom Mueller Professor John Coleman Professor Georgy Koentges Professor Peter Barry Professor Sultan Barakat Professor Mohamed El Gomati Professor John Currey Professor Paul Busch Professor Bob White Professor Matt Matravers Professor Stevi Jackson Professor Andy Tudor Professor Roger Marsh Professor Guy Halsall Professor Gweno Williams |