A retired sociology professor has been stripped of her honorary titles by two universities after suggesting on social media that someone should “blow up the venue” of a Jewish Labour conference. The Telegraph has more.
Prof. Harriet Bradley made the remark on X, formerly known as Twitter, under a post that said Wes Streeting and Bridget Phillipson, shadow cabinet members, were due to speak at the event.
Avon and Somerset Constabulary confirmed that the post was recorded as an “incident of malicious communications” and was being investigated.
Prof. Bradley, 78, apologised to anyone who had been “hurt, offended or frightened” and said: “It was a remark made as a joke, but I can see now it was a terrible mistake in awful taste.”
She said she was of Jewish heritage and had “great respect for the Jewish people and their terrible historical sufferings”.
She is understood to have been awarded the honorary status of Emeritus Professor by both the University of Bristol and the University of West England after she retired as a sociology professor.
On Friday morning, a Bristol University spokesman said: “We can confirm that we have withdrawn the emeritus and honorary status of retired employee Prof. Harriet Bradley with immediate effect.”
Worth reading in full.
What do you think: fair enough response to a comment apparently rooted in antisemitism – note the tweet Prof. Bradley was responding to (and apparently endorsing) called the conference a gathering of every “racist, nonce and shithouse in Britain” – or another instance of cancel culture for a poor taste joke?
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