Freedom of Speech Code of Practice

6.1. We encourage our community members to organise events, meetings or other activities (“Events”) and invite a diverse range of speakers. When Events are organised, we will follow the procedures laid out in this section and our Procedure for Organising Events with External Speakers.

6.2. All spaces to be used for Events must be booked in accordance with our booking process and all Events with external speakers must be reported to the University Secretary. We have procedures in place for discharging our duty in regard to Events which are held on our premises and are noted in this Code of Practice. This includes undertaking a risk assessment for Events which come under this Code.

6.3. We will not unreasonably deny permission to Events to be held in our facilities or on digital platforms on the grounds of the beliefs or views of the organisers or participants. However, in certain exceptional circumstances, we may deny permission for an Event to take place if we reasonably believe that the views or ideas likely to be put forward, the manner of their expression, or the event in question:
(i) is likely to lead to the unlawful expression of views;
(ii) is against the law or is likely to incite breach of law; 
(iii) is likely to risk drawing people into terrorism or disseminate terrorist ideas or ideologies, or whether a proposed visiting speaker or invited participant is on the UK sanctions list or belongs to a sanctioned organisation;
(iv) is likely to constitute a criminal offence, and/or unlawful discrimination;
(v) is likely to present a threat to the health and safety of public, students, staff or individuals attending the event;
(vi) is likely to infringe the rights of others;
(vii) aims to interfere with an approved Event. Any protest must be conducted in a peaceful way without infringing the rights of others, including the right to freedom of speech;
(viii) is likely to advocate or engage in violence;

6.4. In instances where there is a risk of any situations occurring as described in Section 6.4, we will take into account our legal responsibilities in deciding whether to:

• allow the Event to proceed or be postponed;
• withdraw an invitation;
• impose conditions to mitigate identified risks.

6.5. An Event is classified as a ‘designated activity’ if any of the following conditions are met, and such activities should only proceed after the approval of the [External Speakers and other Designated Activities Request Panel] (Panel), who is responsible for overseeing them:

i. There is there any possibility of a situation arising in which people might experience harassment, intimidation, verbal abuse, or violence?;
ii. The speaker is likely to express controversial views/likely to express views that may attract protest?
iii. The speaker is known to hold controversial views/known to hold views that may attract protest?
iv. The speaker is from an area where the geo-political situation may attract protest?
v. The subject matter of the event is relating to an area where the geo-political situation may attract protest?
vi. The subject matter, topic, or title of the event is controversial, or likely to evoke a strong emotive response if advertised to the general public?

6.6. The External Speaker Events Booking Procedure and Risk Assessment outline how we review and approve requests received.

6.7. We expect speakers and individuals attending Events to respect our values under Section 3. Members of our community, speakers and attendees should show tolerance and respect towards all sections of the community.

6.8. When deciding whether to invite speakers, Event organisers should consider how their event will contribute to the advancement of education in a university setting.

6.9. The Event organiser is responsible for making external speakers aware of this Code and that they comply with it and any conditions set out at the time of booking. Where an Event has been approved to go ahead, the Event organiser will be responsible for liaising with the relevant members of university staff to make sure that any conditions are met.

6.10. We will typically cover the costs of security for events held on our premises. However, in exceptional circumstances, such as when security costs are disproportionate to the number of attendees, or when visiting speakers are expected to provide their own security due to their political or state office, these costs may be passed on to the event organisers.