Officials at the university state that the event was aimed at helping staff act appropriately when faced with extreme views, such as racism or homophobia.

The workshop was held for academic staff by one of the leading professors at the university and was well advertised around campus via posters, welcoming all Faculty and PhD staff to join for an “informal discussion and collaboration around issues of conflict, security and peacebuilding”.

This has led to accusations that the university is restricting free speech.

In a statement released by the university, they said “The event was aimed at talking about what role teaching staff should have in challenging extreme attitudes, such as racist or homophobic comments on campus.

“Racism and homophobia exist across the political spectrum and there should be no elision between right wing politics and extremism.

“An openness to and tolerance of diverging political views is an essential part of learning and sits at the core of the teaching ethos at the University.”

Polly Hatcher

(Image: The Mirror)