University leaders need to “get their head out of the sand” and start assessing now how new free speech legislation in England is going to have a “seismic” impact, as the threat of legal trouble looms.
Although many aspects of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill have not yet come into effect after it received Royal Assent on 11 May, lawyers warned there was no time to waste in assessing whether universities’ policies and practices were in line with the new legislation.
James Murray, managing associate at Mishcon de Reya, who specialises in academic freedom cases, said there was an attitude among some in the sector that the bill “does not change much as it builds on existing duties”.
But, he said, there was a “whole host of new things introduced in terms of both the duties and prohibitions and enforcement mechanisms”, many of which may have “hidden effects”, meaning that this amounted to a “seismic event for universities”.
