Universities that muzzle free speech could face fines of £500,000 amid fears speakers are being 'cancelled' for opposing gender idealogy

By MARTIN BECKFORD, POLICY EDITOR Published: 23:36, 19 April 2026 | Updated: 23:48, 19 April 2026 Universities now face fines of £500,000 if they shut down debates on campus. Higher education institutions could even be struck off and lose vital public money in the most serious cases of censoring free speech. They face tough new penalties from a watchdog amid fears speakers are being 'cancelled' for opposing gender ideology – while other academics are under pressure to avoid sensitive topics for fear of upsetting China. University bosses have also been accused of insisting job applicants state their commitment to woke Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) schemes to weed out candidates with differing views. A year ago the Office for Students (OFS) fined the University of Sussex £585,000 – using existing legislation regarding governance – for its treatment of gender-critical academic Kathleen Stock. The philosophy professor was hounded out of her job after she spoke out about the conflict between transgender rights and those of women. But last night, on the new freedom of speech rules, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said that there were 'far too many cases where academics and speakers are being silenced', so she was 'strengthening protections and empowering the regulator to restore our world-class universities as engines of opportunity'. However, Tories pointed out that, after the election, she paused the implementation of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 they passed.  Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott said: 'Labour labelled our Free Speech Act a 'Tory hate speech charter' and then tried to quietly shelve it. More than three years on, the Education Secretary has finally delivered the complaints scheme Parliament approved.' A year ago the Office for Students (OFS) fined the University of Sussex £585,000 for its treatment of gender-critical academic Kathleen Stock. Pictured: Students protesting at the Oxford Union Protesters are seen outside The Oxford Union where Kathleen Stock spoke to students last year Last year, Sheffield Hallam University forced an academic to abandon work on the enslavement of hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs in China after pressure from Beijing.  Professor Laura Murphy, of the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice, said it was unacceptable for UK universities to act as 'the long arm of the People's Republic of China government'.  Sheffield Hallam later blamed issues with insurance and said it was 'committed' to backing Professor Murphy. Regulations will be created in June so the new complaints scheme can come into force in September. The OFS will investigate concerns and recommend universities review decisions or pay compensation if they fail to protect freedom of speech for staff and speakers.  As of next April, it will be able to fine institutions £500,000 or 2 per cent of their income, whichever is higher. The Department for Education said sanctions in serious cases involve 'deregistration'. Currently, staff can only take vice-chancellors to costly employment tribunals if they believe their views have been shut down. There is a separate system to protect students' speech. The president of Universities UK, Professor Malcolm Press, said: 'We will support members to comply with new regulations.'  But he warned: 'It is important that the OFS discharges its new responsibilities fairly, transparently, and proportionately.' The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.