London (February 16, 2021) Gavin Williamson says that leaders have not done enough to defend people facing “cancellation”
“Gavin Williamson said that student unions had “inappropriate” levels of control over visiting speakers and that universities had introduced codes limiting freedom of speech.
Speakers, students who faced disciplinary action for their views, staff or event organisers would all be able to seek compensation under proposed legislation, should their right to freedom of speech be breached, he said.
Williamson wrote: “In some universities, the authorities have even imposed security costs on student societies when inviting a speaker, in one case a foreign ambassador, a policy which effectively cedes control of who can speak to those who can most credibly resort to criminal threats or violence.”
