A leading academic, who led a recent government review into sex and gender data collection has threatened legal action against the University of Bristol, claiming it failed to protect her freedom of speech.
Prof Alice Sullivan has also written to the university regulator, the Office for Students, after a talk she gave at the university was disrupted by a trans rights protest.
Universities have a legal duty to uphold the right to free speech, while balancing that with the right to protest by those who object.
The University of Bristol rejected her claims and said the talk went ahead safely – despite “unacceptable disruption” – in line with its “strong commitment to upholding free speech”.
Universities have a longstanding legal duty to protect the rights of staff, students and visiting speakers to express views which others might find offensive.
That has come into sharper focus with a new freedom of speech law in higher education, which came into force in August in England.
The University of Bristol said every action it had taken was in support of free speech.
Prof Sullivan’s review for the government, published in March, recommended that data on biological sex and gender identity, external should be recorded as distinct categories.
She said she was first invited to speak about her work by an academic at the University of Bristol in July 2024, and agreed to an event that autumn.
In a new letter to the university, which warns she is willing to bring a legal challenge, Prof Sullivan said the university had first suggested the event was held online rather than in perso
