Even anti-racism speaker ‘is barred’
A CAMPAIGNER against racism claims student zealots have blocked him from speaking at an event because he has condemned child grooming and Islamic extremism.
Nick Lowles, chief executive of Hope Not Hate, said he was branded ‘Islamaphobic’ by ‘ultra-Leftists’ who tried to ‘no-platform’ him from an anti-racism talk.
He said he is ‘effectively excluded’ from a conference after being blocked by a ‘small group’ within the National Union of Students.
The ban, allegedly made by individuals within the union’s Black Students group, was described yesterday by the campaigner as ‘amusing in its absurdity’. Mr Lowles is a member of the Government’s working group on anti-Muslim hatred and has co-authored a report into organised anti-Muslim hatred.
He said: ‘The NUS now has a conference policy to work with Hope Not Hate in combating racism, but when it was suggested that I speak at the NUS anti-racism conference there was push back from a few leading figures, alleging that I was an Islamophobe. This charge is obviously quite ridiculous.
‘My crime, it seems, has been to repeatedly call on the anti-racist movement to do more to condemn on-street grooming by gangs and campaigning against Islamist extremist groups in the UK and abroad. I make no apology for either position. We need to be consistent in our opposition to extremism – from whatever quarter it comes – just as we need to be more vocal in our condemnation of child sex grooming.’
The NUS said it was not aware of any ban and that it had not come from anyone on the national executive team.
NUS president Megan Dunn said: ‘Hope Not Hate is not on NUS’s no-platform list. ‘Representatives from Hope Not Hate, including Nick Lowles, have and continue to be invited to NUS events.’