Murray pulls out of Oxford talk after claim she is ‘transphobic’

JENNI MURRAY, the veteran BBC broadcaster, has pulled out of a talk at Oxford University after LGBTQ+ students claimed that she is “transphobic” and attempted to “no platform” her.

The Radio 4 Woman’s Hour presenter was due to speak this Saturday at an Oxford History Society event, as part of their Powerful British Women in History series of events. But last night, she told the History Society that she is no longer able to attend the event due to “personal reasons”.

This week, three student groups wrote a joint letter urging their peers to “publicly condemn” Murray’s views and “if possible, cancel the event”. The LGBTQ+ campaign and Women’s Campaign, which are run by Oxford University’s Student Union, as well as the LGBTQ Society have signed the letter.

They say inviting “publicly transphobic speakers to the university, without challenge, further marginalises the welfare of trans students and staff ”.

Students claimed that Murray made “explicitly transphobic comments” in a newspaper article last year, in which she argued that trans women who have lived as men “with all the privilege that entails” do not have the experience of growing up female.

Murray previously said she “made very clear” in her article she fully supports “the right of trans women to be accorded the respect and protection I would demand for any human being, regardless of sex or gender”.

An Oxford spokesman said that the university is “committed to supporting the university’s transgender students and staff ”.