Statement from the University of the West of England after masked protesters disrupt event
Jacob Rees Mogg was invited to speak this evening at an event at the University of the West of England (UWE) organised by the student Politics And International Relations Society (PAIRS).
The event was invaded and disrupted by masked protesters, who were not thought to be students.
This is what the University authorities had to say about the event this evening
“We are absolutely appalled by the conduct of a small number of attendees at an UWE PAIRS talk this evening. It is our understanding at this stage that a small group of protesters broke into the lecture theatre. “The police were called and our security attended.
"We understand these protesters were not UWE Bristol students and did not have tickets for the event.
"Once the situation was calmed, Mr Rees Mogg went ahead with his speech. Both security and the police stayed for the event.
“We support the democratic right of free speech and peaceful protest. However, we strongly condemn the actions of protesters who disrupted normal debate and behaved in this way.
"We are delighted Mr Rees-Mogg was able to debate with our legitimate student body in a respectful manner.
“We would like to thank Jacob Rees Mogg for his composure and actions to diffuse what must have been a challenging and unprovoked incident. We will work with the police to identify the individuals and take appropriate action.”
More details here.
This sort of thing is not new.
I can recall thirty years ago when the University of the West of England was called Bristol Polytechnic and I was a student at the University of Bristol, that I and a number of other people who had been invited to attend a meeting of Bristol Polytechnic Conservatives at which Norman Tebbitt, then a cabinet minister, was guest speaker, were trapped outside by a similar attempt to disrupt the meeting.
That was far from the only attempt by extremists, mostly on the fac left, to disrupt free speech which I experienced as a student myself: it was too common then and it is too common now.
But that is not healthy and if we want an effective democracy we need to be vigilant in protecting free speech.
The event was invaded and disrupted by masked protesters, who were not thought to be students.
This is what the University authorities had to say about the event this evening
“We are absolutely appalled by the conduct of a small number of attendees at an UWE PAIRS talk this evening. It is our understanding at this stage that a small group of protesters broke into the lecture theatre. “The police were called and our security attended.
"We understand these protesters were not UWE Bristol students and did not have tickets for the event.
"Once the situation was calmed, Mr Rees Mogg went ahead with his speech. Both security and the police stayed for the event.
“We support the democratic right of free speech and peaceful protest. However, we strongly condemn the actions of protesters who disrupted normal debate and behaved in this way.
"We are delighted Mr Rees-Mogg was able to debate with our legitimate student body in a respectful manner.
“We would like to thank Jacob Rees Mogg for his composure and actions to diffuse what must have been a challenging and unprovoked incident. We will work with the police to identify the individuals and take appropriate action.”
More details here.
This sort of thing is not new.
I can recall thirty years ago when the University of the West of England was called Bristol Polytechnic and I was a student at the University of Bristol, that I and a number of other people who had been invited to attend a meeting of Bristol Polytechnic Conservatives at which Norman Tebbitt, then a cabinet minister, was guest speaker, were trapped outside by a similar attempt to disrupt the meeting.
That was far from the only attempt by extremists, mostly on the fac left, to disrupt free speech which I experienced as a student myself: it was too common then and it is too common now.
But that is not healthy and if we want an effective democracy we need to be vigilant in protecting free speech.
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