Watchdog Will Take ‘Robust’ Action if Universities Don’t Protect Free Speech, Says Favourite to Head OfS

The likely next chairman of the Office for Students, Edward Peck, said the watchdog has an obligation to ensure universities ’secure and promote free speech.’

A graduation ceremony at the University of Suffolk in Ipswich, England, on Oct. 19, 2015. Chris Radburn/PA Wire

Professor Edward Peck has said that under his leadership, the Office for Students (OfS) would take “robust regulatory action” against universities that do not protect or promote free speech.

Peck, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson’s preferred candidate to head up the universities watchdog, told MPs on Tuesday that higher education (HE) providers “should be places where ideas can be explored, examined, challenged, or disagreement can be facilitated. Where new viewpoints can be discovered.”

“It’s crucial,” the outgoing Nottingham Trent University vice-chancellor told the Education Select Committee, continuing, “Without that, I don’t think we have a university sector which would be the envy of the world as it is now.”

He said, “As chair, I want to make sure we take robust regulatory action if we find that the code of practice of institutions has not been followed and that complaints from staff or visiting speakers are justified.”

The prospective OfS chairman went on to say that the watchdog has a duty to tell HE providers to produce a code of practice where universities and colleges “are obliged to secure and promote free speech.”

The OfS is the independent regulator for higher education and one of its responsibilities is to ensure students have a fulfilling university experience. It has the power to intervene over issues of free speech on campus.

Anti-Semitism on Campus

Peck was responding to a question from committee member Patrick Spencer during his pre-appointment hearing.

Spencer went on to ask Peck what he would say as head of the OfS if there were a protest on campus where students had chanted “from the river to the sea“ or called for an intifada.

“I expect that university taking robust action to investigate those accusations and if they were found to be upheld, to take action in line with their own disciplinary processes,” he responded.

The academic added that universities should work with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of anti-Semitism and include some Union of Jewish Students materials in their induction for students “so people understand what anti-Semitism is, how to recognise it, and how, sometimes, to recognise it in yourself as well as others.”

His comments follow a rise of anti-Semitism in the UK, including on campus following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack on Israel and the ensuing conflict between the Jewish state and the Islamist terror group.

Peck said: “It’s very important that every student feels safe, secure, and respected as they study on campus. Some of the activities over the last 18 months have not always, I think, made—particularly Jewish students—feel that.”

The Education Select Committee’s next action will be to publish its recommendations, which Phillipson will consider before deciding on whether to finalise Peck’s appointment.

HE Free Speech Law

The DfE’s recommendation of Peck and his views follow the government reinstating a law which would govern how freedom of expression on campus is protected.

Shortly after Labour came to power in July, it revoked the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act which was created by the previous Conservative government to introduce new duties on HE institutions and their student unions to strengthen academic freedom and free speech.

Phillipson said at the time this was owing to “widespread concern that the legislation is disproportionate, burdensome, and damaging to the welfare of students while not addressing hate speech on campuses.”

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson leaving Downing Street, London, after a Cabinet meeting, on July 9, 2024. Lucy North/PA Wire

In January, however, the government said the act would be implemented and that it “reaffirms commitment to Free Speech in universities.”

It added that “burdensome” provisions will be scrapped, including those which risked leaving universities vulnerable to disproportionate costs for legal disputes and removed duties placed directly on student unions, similarly to alleviate the risk of unions having to take on costly and complex legal responsibilities.

Free Speech ‘in Retreat’

The broader issue of free speech has gained attention in recent weeks after U.S. Vice President JD Vance voiced concerns that fundamental shared values like freedom of expression are “in retreat” in the UK and Europe.

On Feb. 28, the government announced it was launching a working group on developing a definition for anti-Muslim hatred/Islamophobia.

The government said the definition would help provide guidance to bodies on how to tackle religiously-motivated hate, after the number of incidents of hate crime and Islamophobia had reached a record high in England and Wales last year.

However, the Conservatives have warned that creating an official definition of Islamophobia would risk creating a “chilling effect on free speech” and legitimate and lawful debate.

Kevin Hollinrake, the shadow communities secretary, told reporters that such a definition could hinder criticism of Islamist extremism, urging the government to focus instead on “anti-Muslim hatred,” which he said is more reflective of existing British hate crime legislation.