Speaking up for freedom

THE heart of free speech requires a mature society that will not recoil when it is used to express opinions and historical interpretations that some will find objectionable.

Higher education minister Jo Johnson has warned universities they must uphold the tradition of free speech or face financial sanctions.

The fact that Oxford University professor Nigel Biggar believes there were positives about the Empire and colonialism and so there ought not to be any guilt has caused a furore among his fellow academics (Mail).

I certainly do not support Professor Biggar’s rosy interpretation of the Empire. However, I deplore his colleagues’ desire to silence him, along with university students’ demands to ‘no-platform’ speakers for views to which they object.

Let’s have free speech in the form of public debates whereby opinions can be fully heard, examined and challenged.

CHAKA ARTWELL, OXFORD.