Students are turning into commissars

THERE is a first time for everything and so I find myself seething with indignation on behalf of gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell. He has been accused by a Nottingham University student, who was due to take part in a debate with him, of being “transphobic” so she has refused to participate.

If Tatchell is transphobic, then the Pope is anti- Catholic.

However, even if Tatchell were to be transphobic, that would not be a good enough reason to pull out of the debate. As he says, he shares platforms with people with whose views he profoundly disagrees and he does so in the name of free speech.

Universities were once vital forces in the exchange of ideas and debate. Now they are becoming as repressive as the former Soviet Union.