Hundreds of people have signed an open letter encouraging Oxford Union to rethink its decision to invite far-right activist Tommy Robinson to speak later this month.
The controversial figure, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has accepted an invitation to debate at the Oxford Union on Thursday, May 28.
A letter, launched by Oxford Stand Up To Racism, is following the invitation of Robinson to speak on the debate "This House believes the West is right to be suspicious of Islam”.
Ian Mckendrick from Oxford Stand Up To Racism said: "We have long experience of fascist Yaxley-Lennon and his supporters in Oxford.
"We blocked him from Oxford town centre when he brought 300 violent, racist thugs from the English Defence League on a hate march against Muslims in 2015.
"The President of the Oxford Union is helping to undo years of community work blocking the growth of Yaxley-Lennon's foot soldiers as they have repeatedly sought to build a local fascist group and attack refugees, Muslims, trans people, anti-racist and Palestine solidarity campaigners, and anyone they consider 'left.'
"This is not about freedom of speech, but about whether a prestigious institution gives a platform to a fascist to spout hate."
This comes after Robinson's "Unite the Kingdom" rally last weekend, in which around 60,000 people congregated in London.
Jane Coles, vice-president of Oxford and District Trades Council, said "As trade unionists, we stand for solidarity, democracy and unity. Far-right agitators like Yaxley-Lennon seek to divide working people and attack those very principles.
"Let’s not forget the Nazis in World War 2 violently suppressed trade unions – many thousands of their members were killed or imprisoned for promoting democratic values and upholding freedom of speech."
Carol Wing, from Oxford Women Against The Far-Right, said "As we have seen again recently in the ‘Unite the Kingdom’ gathering on March 16, the far right are using women's safety as a weapon to spread racism and division.
"They are not defenders of women – they exploit violence against women and children in order to peddle hatred and division.
"Their stunt showing female actors removing their burqas on stage in that sexualised manner was sickening. All women, no matter their colour race or religion should be able to live without fear of violence or sexualisation."
In the open letter the activist group accused the Oxford Union of "helping to boost and legitimise Robinson's racism and fascism" and called the invitation "dangerous and negligent of the safety and peace of Oxford's diverse community".
