Universities: Anti-Semitism

Lord Anderson of Swansea Excerpts

Monday 4th November 2019 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Berridge]

My Lords, I join my noble friend Lord Leigh in saying that, yes, it is disappointing. But the Government are aware of only five institutions; there may be other providers which have adopted the definition but have not seen fit to respond to any of the letters. They have been encouraged to do so and to inform the Government of their reasons should they not be adopting the definition. My noble friend is also right that the Government collaborated with the EHRC on its new Freedom of Expression code for universities. Universities should be in no doubt now regarding their duty to promote free speech and the holding of events on campuses.

[Lord Anderson of Swansea (Lab)]

My Lords, while applauding the record of the Minister in this field and welcoming her to the Front Bench, may I ask her whether she agrees that commitment to this definition is a good badge of one’s commitment to human rights and anti-Semitism generally? What reasons, if any, are advanced by those defaulting institutions?

[Baroness Berridge]

I am grateful to the noble Lord. Yes, this is an internationally recognised definition, and we were the first Government to adopt it. Unfortunately, I cannot elaborate on any institution’s reasons at the moment. However, as I said, the Secretary of State for Communities has asked institutions that are having reservations to inform the Government about their reasons.