Professor Arif Ahmed

The philosopher charged with defending campus free speech is robustly independent, happy to take on vested interests — and not easily pigeonholed

THE GOVERNMENT’S RESPONSE to accusations that it has stood inert whilst Britain’s universities have been transformed into institutions intolerant of those who challenge the prevailing orthodoxies was the passing in May of the Freedom of Speech (Higher Education) Act 2023. Critics complain that the new law replicates the obligations placed on universities by Margaret Thatcher’s Education Secretary, Keith Joseph, as part of a massive overhaul of the sector in the 1980s. But that criticism overlooks changes whose cumulative effect is intended to secure a radical shift in assessing the legal and financial risks of failing not only to protect academic freedom but to promote it as well. By far the most promising innovation is the creation of the post of Director for Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom at the…

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The Critic (Digital) - 1 Issue, July 2023

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