All talk

Gavin Williamson wags the free speech finger at universities

On Friday, a senior Conservative politician once again chose the paywall of The Times as a platform from which to rebuke higher education over free speech. Not content with risking real wars—who can forget his diplomatic intervention as defence secretary that saw the Chinese government cancel a visit from the chancellor—Gavin Williamson has joined the culture war against universities.

In an op-ed in The Times, Williamson said that “if universities can’t defend free speech, the government will”. This is the same government that excludes lobby journalists from briefings and whose most senior member would rather hide in a fridge than face the fearsome questioning of Good Morning Britain.