High court overturns £585k University of Sussex fine and rejects free speech claim
Kathleen Stock left her job at the University of Sussex (Getty Images)
The High Court has ruled in favour of the University of Sussex in the case of a legal challenge issued by university regulator the Office for Students in a landmark ruling.
The OfS attempted to impose a fine of £585,000 on the university for its policies surrounding trans and non-binary inclusion. The fine was the largest ever levied by the OfS and raised concerns for universities across the country.
The university, located in East Sussex, had a Trans and Non-Binary Equality Policy Statement which required staff and students to “positively represent trans people”, with transphobia “not tolerated” at the institution.
In March last year, the OfS ruled the university’s trans inclusive policy could lead to a “chilling effect” and self-censorship of opposing gender-critical perspectives. The OfS began an investigation into the policy after Kathleen Stock left her job as a professor of philosophy at the institution.
Stock, who believes biological sex is more important than gender, resigned from her post after police advised her to stay away from campus when a series of protests over her views broke out.
The watchdog set out in its decision that Stock, who is regularly given a public platform for her views, became “more cautious” about expressing her beliefs due to the policy.
On 29 April, High Court judge Mrs Justice Lieven looked into how the fine from the OfS was issued as opposed to the circumstances surrounding Stock’s departure from the University of Sussex.
The court case concluded with the High Court rejecting the claims that Sussex University had breached free speech regulations and with the judge saying that the Office for Students had “closed its mind” to any other outcome for the investigation.
She also noted that the OfS had interviewed Stock as part of the investigation, but failed to interview anyone from the university, despite receiving requests from the university itself to do so.
Following the ruling, vice-chancellor of the University of Sussex, Sasha Roseneil, said: “I am delighted that Sussex’s foundational commitments to academic freedom and freedom of speech have been recognised by the high court, and that the OfS’s egregious decision against the university, and the fine it sought to impose, have been overturned.”
She continued: “The University of Sussex has a proud history of being the place where the most contentious issues of the day are aired – where independent-minded, critical thinkers develop their ideas, and where lively and engaged students work out how they understand the world.
“We will continue to focus on creating an open, inclusive and respectful campus culture in which differences of opinion can be expressed and explored, and in which students and staff of all backgrounds, beliefs and identities are able to flourish.”
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