Civil Service Blocked Meetings With Gender Critics: Former Minister

"Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling lights the Empire State Building to mark the launch of her non-profit children's organization Lumos, in New York, on April 9, 2015. Evan Agostini /Invision/AP, File

A minister who was tasked with protecting free speech under former Prime Minister Boris Johnson claims she was blocked from meeting high-profile gender critics by the Civil Service.

Andrea Jenkyns, who served as higher education and skills minister for three months in 2022, said she was barred from meeting author JK Rowling and feminist academic Kathleen Stock by civil servants after wanting to hear their views.

Speaking to the Telegraph on Thursday, Jenkyns said that the Civil Service stopped her “from seeing Kathleen Stock and other gender critical academics.

“Last year I was tasked with getting the universities Freedom of Speech Bill through, but obviously, in the end, I didn’t get a chance to do it.

“Before getting it through I wanted to speak with JK Rowling, [the conservative academic] Matthew Goodwin, and Kathleen Stock to find out how bad the atmosphere is within universities in terms of threats to freedom of speech.”

Jenkyns said that her “private office of civil servants” had promised to organise the meetings.

However, she told the newspaper that she “kept getting the run-around.”

“And then I was ousted in October by Rishi so I didn’t get a chance to push it,” she added.

The Department for Education (DfE) did not respond to an Epoch Times request for comment on the former minister’s remarks.

Academic Freedom

Her criticism comes just weeks after the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act made it into law after years of delays.

The bill allows academics and students to sue universities and student unions if they do not comply with “their duties to protect freedom of speech.”

It also sets up safeguards, including a new complaints scheme, to ensure free speech on campuses.

That will be overseen by the government’s new university freedom of speech tsar Arif Ahmed.

The Cambridge academic was officially announced as the Office for Students director for freedom of speech and academic freedom on Thursday.

The act was first introduced to the House of Commons in May 2021. 

When Jenkyns was higher education minister during the summer of 2022, the bill was just going through the House of Lords where it achieved Royal Assent.

The government indicated in December it would water down aspects of the bill by making it harder for academics and students to receive compensation from the courts if their free speech rights were violated, according to the Telegraph.

However, in February, the newspaper reported that ministers gave into pressure from free speech campaigners to remove the proposed amendments, making legal action against universities a last resort.

The DfE said the new act “delivers on the Government’s commitment to strengthen academic freedom and free speech in higher education, helping to protect the reputation of our universities as centres of academic freedom.”

A press release issued after the bill became law said that registered higher education providers in England will now have extended legal duties not only to take steps to “secure freedom of speech” and academic freedom but also to “promote these important values.”

Students unions will also be held to the same legal responsibilities as universities and their colleges to take “reasonably practicable steps” to ensure lawful freedom of speech. 

Higher education providers and students unions that fail to comply may face sanctions, including fines, the DfE said.