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 resignation in 2021. Sasha Roseneil, Sussex’s vice-chancellor, said after the decision was announced: “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. “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. …