17 September 2015

British universities that give the floor to extremist speakers are named and shamed

David Cameron will today expose some of Britain’s leading universities as havens for Islamist fanatics as he announces a new legal duty for colleges to stop extremists targeting students.

The Prime Minister will name and shame the universities that regularly give platforms to hate preachers who are determined to undermine British values. They include King’s College London as well as Queen Mary University and SOAS.

In total, some 70 events involving Islamist preachers were held on campuses last year.

Mr Cameron will tell colleges they must stop giving fanatics “the oxygen they need to flourish”.

Jo Johnson, the universities minister, has also written to the National Union of Students, urging it to stop attacking counter-radicalisation programmes or associating with controversial organisations such as Cage, the Islamic civil rights group. A new legal requirement comes into force this week that will make universities and other education establishments fully assess and counter extremist preachers. [The Telegraph] Read more