Sussex University overturns £585,000 fine as high court rejects free speech breach claim

Sussex University has overturned a £585,000 fine by England’s higher education watchdog after the high court rejected claims the university had breached free speech regulations involving its former professor Kathleen Stock. The ruling is a damaging blow to the credibility and management of the Office for Students, after the court rejected the regulator’s lengthy investigation , following Sussex’s handling of the protests aimed at Stock over her views on transgender rights and her subsequent …