THE OBSERVER: Plans to protect free speech leave universities in England and Wales ‘at risk of being sued’ by anti-vaxxers and Holocaust deniers
Government plans to “safeguard” free speech in universities would allow Holocaust deniers, anti-vaccination groups and conspiracy theorists to take legal action against higher education organisations that denied them a platform to air their views, Labour said last night.
Announcing that its MPs would vote against the higher education (freedom of speech) bill, which has its second reading in the Commons this week, Labour claimed that it was a hugely divisive and harmful “hate speech bill”.
Universities UK and the National Union of Students have also expressed grave concerns about the bill, suggesting it is wildly disproportionate, and could leave institutions and student unions wide open to costly legal actions from people making vexatious or frivolous claims that they have been denied public platforms. » | Toby Helm, Political editor | Sunday, July 11, 2021
