MPs have signed a letter in support of a race report chair who has had an honorary degree offer withdrawn by a university over “controversy”.
dr Tony Sewell was due to accept the award from the University of Nottingham this year, but they withdrew after his government-commissioned report was published last year.
He accused the establishment of not wanting to “rock the boat”.
Now members of parliament have written to the university and called for a turnaround.
At Tuesday’s Commons Education Select Committee meeting, Conservative MP Tom Hunt said he was “really shocked” by the university’s decision.
“The claim that the Free Speech Act is not needed is nonsense,” he added.
He said a letter signed by about 60 other Tory MPs would be sent to the university’s vice chancellor and they would “not let it lie”.
The review by Dr. Sewell, chair of the Commission on Racial and Ethnic Differences, was commissioned in the wake of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests.
It turns out that while there were racial differences in the UK, there was no evidence of “institutional racism”.
However, some criticized his report, with one source calling it “unmusical” and another saying it was a “disappointment” and a denial of the existence of institutional racism.
Last week Dr. Sewell revealed that an honorary degree for which he had been selected by his former university had been withdrawn due to discussions surrounding the report.
He argued that universities should be a place for students to debate, saying the decision was made “because they didn’t want to rock the boat and it’s about money”.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Universities UK vice-president Quintin McKellar said most universities “would go to the ends of the world to protect freedom of speech” but said “we are all concerned about the drop-out culture”.
He added that the issue was “difficult” and gave an example of “problems related to pro-Russian propaganda raised by colleagues at some universities”.
“In these circumstances, should we uphold freedom of speech? These are not easy questions,” he said.
A statement from the University of Nottingham said it was “deeply regrettable” that Dr. Sewell’s offer was withdrawn last year.
“The criteria prevent us from awarding them to figures who become the subject of political controversy,” she added.
“Since the decision to award an honorary degree in late 2019, the University’s Honorary Degrees Committee determined that Mr. Sewell became the subject of political controversy in 2021 and therefore decided that it was no longer appropriate to award the title.”
They emphasized that the decision does not mean “passing judgment on Mr. Sewell personally or expressing an opinion on his work.”
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