University of Sussex fined £585,000 for failing to uphold freedom of speech

Prof Stock resigned from the University of Sussex in 2021 over what she called ‘a medieval experience’ of campus ostracism and protests. Photograph: Graeme Robertson/The Guardian

England’s university regulator has been accused of “perpetuating the culture wars” after fining the University of Sussex a record £585,000 at the conclusion of an investigation into freedom of speech on campus.

It marks the end of a three-and-a-half year investigation into the university’s handling of the case of Kathleen Stock, a philosophy professor who resigned after being targeted by protests over her views on gender identification and transgender rights.