The University of Sussex is facing a record £585,000 fine from England’s higher education regulator over alleged failures to uphold free speech and academic freedom.
The Office for Students (OfS) found “significant and serious breaches” at the university, a draft press release seen by the Financial Times has revealed.
The regulator, who will official publish its findings tomorrow, determined that policies intended to prevent harassment of certain groups had created “a chilling effect” that might cause staff and students to “self-censor”.
The OfS report specifically criticised Sussex’s policy statement on “trans and non-binary equality” for failing to uphold freedom of speech and academic freedom principles.
A rear view of a university graduate in a graduation gown holding a diploma in his hand outside the academic building
GETTY
Sussex University also failed to have “effective and adequate management and governance arrangements in place”.
The ruling marks the conclusion of an inquiry that began more than three years ago.
The OfS stated there was “no evidence” to suggest that gender-critical philosophy professor Kathleen Stock’s speech during her employment at the university was “unlawful”.
The investigation was sparked when Stock was forced out of Sussex in 2021 after experiencing a “three-year campaign of bullying and character assassination”.
Stock was embroiled in controversy over gender identification and transgender rights.
Some students objected to her involvement with the LGB Alliance, an organisation opposing “the idea that gender, the way you feel or dress, is more important than biological sex”.
Stock told the FT in 2021 that students, activists and even colleagues accused her of transphobia and campaigned for her dismissal.
Sussex University has reacted furiously to the ruling. Vice-Chancellor Sasha Roseneil said the regulator had decreed “free speech absolutism as the fundamental principle” for universities.
She claimed the OfS had “refused to speak to us” and that the fine was “wholly disproportionate”.
Roseneil argued the ruling made it “virtually impossible for universities to prevent abuse, harassment or bullying, to protect groups subject to harmful propaganda, or to determine that stereotyped assumptions should not be relied upon in the university curriculum”.
The university maintains it defended Stock’s right to express her “lawful beliefs”.
The decision comes amid a changing regulatory landscape for UK universities. The previous Conservative Government passed the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 to strengthen free speech protections.
JD Vance
REUTERS
However, Labour announced in January it would not implement many of the planned measures, arguing existing laws were robust enough.
At the centre of the OfS inquiry was Arif Ahmed, the regulator’s director for freedom of speech and academic freedom appointed in 2023.
Ahmed said the fine had been “significantly discounted” as this was the first case of its kind.
The ruling sends a strong message to higher education institutions navigating the balance between preventing hate speech and defending free expression.
Sussex argues universities now face regulatory risk if they implement policies protecting staff and students from racist, homophobic, antisemitic or anti-Muslim abuse.
The case has gained international attention amid broader debates about campus free speech.
US Vice-President JD Vance last month lectured Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on defending free speech, while Elon Musk claims Britain is stifling free expression.
The OfS said it published its findings to help other universities comply with free speech duties.
