- The University of Sussex has won a High Court challenge against the Office for Students (OfS) over a finding that it had infringed on lawful free speech.
- The OfS had fined the university £585,000, alleging its trans and non-binary equality policy created a “chilling effect” of possible self-censorship of students and staff and had breached conditions of registration.
- Mrs Justice Lieven ruled in the university's favour, saying the OfS “misdirected itself”, and its decision was ”vitiated by bias” and “predetermined”.
- The judge found the OfS made a “clear error of law” and ”failed to read the policy statement as a whole”, “closed its mind to anything that would lead to not finding breaches”.
- The university's vice-chancellor, Professor Sasha Roseneil, called the “excoriating” judgment a “devastating indictment” of the OfS's impartiality and competence.
IN FULL
University wins High Court challenge over record £585,000 freedom of speech fine
