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Once again, tragedy in higher education finds itself at the centre of the election campaign

For the second time in as many weeks, universities find themselves at the front of the national conversation for tragic reasons. On 15 November, a fire in a Bolton student housing block merited a prime-ministerial visit to the town. This weekend, election campaigning in London was suspended following a terrorist incident at a conference organised by the University of Cambridge.

Three people, including the attacker, were killed at or following an event on prison education hosted by Cambridge’s institute of criminology on 29 November at Fishmongers’ Hall, near London Bridge. The victims have been named as Jack Merritt, 25, and Saskia Jones, 23. Three others, including a university staff member, were hospitalised as a result of the attack.