• Login
  • Register
The Daily Sceptic
No Result
View All Result
  • Articles
  • About
  • Archive
    • ARCHIVE
    • NEWS ROUND-UPS
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Premium
  • Donate
  • Log In
The Daily Sceptic
No Result
View All Result

Oxford College Admits it Was Wrong to Cancel Christian Group

by Toby Young
22 June 2022 10:00 AM

An Oxford college has admitted that it “misled” students after it claimed an event organised by a Christian group had caused “distress”. Following a joint campaign by the Free Speech Union and Christian Concern, the college has lifted the ban and apologised for capitulating to an activist mob. The Telegraph has more.

Worcester College, run by David Isaac, the former head of the equalities watchdog, had apologised to students for hosting a Christian Concern training camp and cancelled a second booking after a small number of students complained.

But after being warned that the move could be discriminatory, the college has backed down and issued a statement saying that it was committed “to the right to freedom of speech and religious belief and the dignity of all people”.

The joint statement with Christian Concern confirmed that the evangelical campaign group would now be invited to speak at the college, adding: “In a world where differing views are strongly and sincerely held, it is important to come together and listen to each other.”

The college’s apology, first revealed by the Telegraph last September, came after some students complained about the presence of the Wilberforce Academy over the summer months.

In what was described as the latest example of cancel culture in Britain’s universities, Worcester College wrote to students acknowledging the “distress” that it had caused and promising to use the profits for “diversity initiatives”.

The letter came just months after Mr. Isaac took over as provost from his role as chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). He had previously been chairman of the controversial LGBTQ charity Stonewall.

Despite having been a champion of free speech at universities during his time at the EHRC, Mr. Isaac’s team cancelled a preliminary booking for the same conference for this September.

But in March an independent review found “no evidence” for the allegations from students, who had claimed there had been “aggressive leafleting” by Wilberforce attendees and that they had approached students to discuss LGBTQ conversion therapy.

The college acted on the complaints despite staff not even being able to find a copy of the leaflets, the review noted.

Worcester College has now admitted after “detailed examination” that it was “misleading to suggest that Conference delegates or representatives of Christian Concern acted improperly in an email to students in September 2021”.

The joint statement continued: “Worcester College did not act with the intention of impugning Christian Concern or its reputation. In a world where differing views are strongly and sincerely held it is important to come together and listen to each other.

“To that end, Worcester has invited Christian Concern to speak at a debate which will take place as soon as can be arranged. Worcester looks forward to welcoming Christian Concern back to College.”

The move has been welcomed by campaigners including Toby Young, the general secretary of the Free Speech Union (FSU).

He said that the FSU has “stood shoulder to shoulder with Christian Concern throughout this dispute”.

“The mistake Worcester College made was to immediately capitulate to the demands of an activist mob and ban a group from its premises without properly investigating the allegations against it,” he said.

“We see this kind of institutional cowardice again and again, particularly in the higher education sector, usually motivated by a desire for a quiet life. The way to force these institutions to take their responsibility to uphold free speech more seriously is to make it clear that organisations like ours will create an almighty fuss if they don’t.”

Worth reading in full.

Tags: Christian ConcernDavid IsaacThe Free Speech UnionWorcester College

Donate

We depend on your donations to keep this site going. Please give what you can.

Donate Today

Comment on this Article

You’ll need to set up an account to comment if you don’t already have one. We ask for a minimum donation of £5 if you'd like to make a comment or post in our Forums.

Sign Up
Previous Post

Number 10 to Set Out Plans to Override Powers of European Court of Human Rights Today

Next Post

The Experts Are Lying to You

Subscribe
Login
Notify of
Please log in to comment

To join in with the discussion please make a donation to The Daily Sceptic.

Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.

4 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

NEWSLETTER

View today’s newsletter

To receive our latest news in the form of a daily email, enter your details here:

DONATE

PODCAST

The Sceptic EP.37: David Frost on Starmer’s EU Surrender, James Price on Broken Britain and David Shipley on Lucy Connolly’s Failed Appeal

by Richard Eldred
23 May 2025
3

LISTED ARTICLES

  • Most Read
  • Most Commented
  • Editor’s Picks

Doctor Who Star Ncuti Gatwa “Axed” and BBC Show to be “Put on Pause” Amid Falling Ratings and Woke Storylines

23 May 2025
by Will Jones

News Round-Up

23 May 2025
by Richard Eldred

The Tweets Cited by the Judge to ‘Prove’ Lucy Connolly is “Racist” Do Nothing of the Sort

23 May 2025
by Laurie Wastell

Spanish Scientists “Were Experimenting with How Far They Could Push Renewable Energy” Before Countrywide Blackout

23 May 2025
by Will Jones

UK Welcomes South African Activist Who Chants About Killing White Farmers But Excludes French Philosopher Concerned About Demographic Change

22 May 2025
by C.J. Strachan

The Tweets Cited by the Judge to ‘Prove’ Lucy Connolly is “Racist” Do Nothing of the Sort

39

News Round-Up

25

Trump Slaps 50% Tariffs on EU – as He Tells Starmer to Get Drilling for Oil

24

Doctor Who Star Ncuti Gatwa “Axed” and BBC Show to be “Put on Pause” Amid Falling Ratings and Woke Storylines

23

We Were Too Polite to Stop the Woke Takeover

19

We Were Too Polite to Stop the Woke Takeover

23 May 2025
by Mary Gilleece

The Tweets Cited by the Judge to ‘Prove’ Lucy Connolly is “Racist” Do Nothing of the Sort

23 May 2025
by Laurie Wastell

Starmer Has No Intention of Cutting Immigration

22 May 2025
by Joe Baron

UK Welcomes South African Activist Who Chants About Killing White Farmers But Excludes French Philosopher Concerned About Demographic Change

22 May 2025
by C.J. Strachan

The BBC’s Mark Poynting Shows How to Spread Climate Alarm

22 May 2025
by Chris Morrison

POSTS BY DATE

June 2022
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
27282930  
« May   Jul »

SOCIAL LINKS

Free Speech Union

NEWSLETTER

View today’s newsletter

To receive our latest news in the form of a daily email, enter your details here:

POSTS BY DATE

June 2022
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
27282930  
« May   Jul »

DONATE

LISTED ARTICLES

  • Most Read
  • Most Commented
  • Editor’s Picks

Doctor Who Star Ncuti Gatwa “Axed” and BBC Show to be “Put on Pause” Amid Falling Ratings and Woke Storylines

23 May 2025
by Will Jones

News Round-Up

23 May 2025
by Richard Eldred

The Tweets Cited by the Judge to ‘Prove’ Lucy Connolly is “Racist” Do Nothing of the Sort

23 May 2025
by Laurie Wastell

Spanish Scientists “Were Experimenting with How Far They Could Push Renewable Energy” Before Countrywide Blackout

23 May 2025
by Will Jones

UK Welcomes South African Activist Who Chants About Killing White Farmers But Excludes French Philosopher Concerned About Demographic Change

22 May 2025
by C.J. Strachan

The Tweets Cited by the Judge to ‘Prove’ Lucy Connolly is “Racist” Do Nothing of the Sort

39

News Round-Up

25

Trump Slaps 50% Tariffs on EU – as He Tells Starmer to Get Drilling for Oil

24

Doctor Who Star Ncuti Gatwa “Axed” and BBC Show to be “Put on Pause” Amid Falling Ratings and Woke Storylines

23

We Were Too Polite to Stop the Woke Takeover

19

We Were Too Polite to Stop the Woke Takeover

23 May 2025
by Mary Gilleece

The Tweets Cited by the Judge to ‘Prove’ Lucy Connolly is “Racist” Do Nothing of the Sort

23 May 2025
by Laurie Wastell

Starmer Has No Intention of Cutting Immigration

22 May 2025
by Joe Baron

UK Welcomes South African Activist Who Chants About Killing White Farmers But Excludes French Philosopher Concerned About Demographic Change

22 May 2025
by C.J. Strachan

The BBC’s Mark Poynting Shows How to Spread Climate Alarm

22 May 2025
by Chris Morrison

SOCIAL LINKS

Free Speech Union
  • Home
  • About us
  • Donate
  • Privacy Policy

Facebook

  • X

Instagram

RSS

Subscribe to our newsletter

© Skeptics Ltd.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Articles
  • About
  • Archive
    • ARCHIVE
    • NEWS ROUND-UPS
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Premium
  • Donate
  • Log In

© Skeptics Ltd.

wpDiscuz
You are going to send email to

Move Comment
Perfecty
Do you wish to receive notifications of new articles?
Notifications preferences