The latest US import into the UK’s campus culture wars is the idea that activist groups use the threat of protest to discourage the booking of – or if all fails, to drown out – external speakers whose views they disagree with.
In a country that is both more litigious than the UK and where first amendment rows run deep, University of Chicago law prof Harry Kalven’s concept of the “hecklers’ veto” has long been suspected to be an issue in universities.
Last week thanks to UCL Sociology Professor Alice Sullivan, Taylor Vintners’ James Murray, and sponsors Lord Hunt and Baroness Morris, an amendment to combat its use was floated in the committee stage debate of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill.
