University fined eye-watering sum for firing professor with gender critical views
A UNIVERSITY was fined £585,000 yesterday for stifling free speech after a professor with gender critical views quit.
The Office for Students imposed the penalty after a probe into the resignation of Prof Kathleen Stock.
She left in 2021 after being accused of transphobia and facing protests over her opinions on gender identity.
The watchdog found she felt “unable to teach certain topics” due to Sussex University’s trans and non-binary equality policy.
It concluded there was a “chilling effect” of self-censorship on staff and students.
Prof Arif Ahmed, the OfS’s Director of Freedom of Speech, said other universities must ensure their policies stick to the law and meet regulatory rules.
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Sussex was found to have breached two conditions of registration, and got a discounted fine as the case was the first of its kind.
The probe’s finding was hailed by MPs across the Commons.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said Prof Stock was “harassed for stating the obvious truth that biological sex is real”.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “Free speech and academic freedom are non-negotiable.”
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Prof Stock — awarded the OBE in 2022 for services to higher education — was professor of philosophy at Sussex.
Its vice-chancellor, Sasha Roseneil, vowed to legally challenge the investigation’s decision.
