Dear Supporter,
Thanks to your generous support, Nathan was able to bring his claim against Emmanuel College to Cambridge County Court in late January this year. In a judgment of 13 February the court found against Nathan and dismissed his claim. We are disappointed by the outcome, but all is far from lost. Nathan’s legal team, and the legal team at the Free Speech Union, believe that there are very strong grounds on which to appeal.
Before setting out those grounds, we note the important wins that Nathan secured. The court found that Emmanuel College is a public body for the purposes of the Human Rights Act 1998, and therefore must act compatibly with the right to freedom of speech. Further, the court ruled that two of Nathan’s core beliefs – the ‘hereditarian’ (or ‘race realist’) belief and the ‘anti-woke’ belief – are protected under the Equality Act 2010.
The court also made significant errors, however.
First, the court failed to address the enhanced free speech protections that Nathan enjoyed in law as an academic writing within his field of expertise. This is crucial in striking the correct balance between Nathan’s right to free speech and any justification for restricting it. In failing to give the proper weight to Nathan’s Article 10 rights, the court set out from the wrong starting point.
Second, the court took the wrong approach to the claim that the College discriminated against Nathan because of his philosophical beliefs. The court failed to properly turn its mind to the ‘real reason' why Nathan was treated less favourably. That reason need only be a significant, rather than the exclusive, reason for the treatment and, crucially, is distinct from the ‘motive’ for the treatment. We believe the court erred by taking too narrow a view of the relevant legal test.
With the support of the Free Speech Union, Nathan is now urgently applying to the High Court for permission to appeal the court’s decision. All is to play for, not least the opportunity to persuade the High Court of the law’s tough protections for academic free speech. Nathan’s case remains the best shot at securing a binding, game-changing decision that will protect controversial speech in academia. Please help if you can – any donation will go towards Nathan’s legal costs. Any unused amount will go to the FSU’s legal defence fund.
Yours faithfully,
THE FREE SPEECH UNION
Dear Supporter,
I would like to express my sincere thanks for your support towards Nathan Cofnas’s fight for academic freedom. Thanks to your generosity Nathan is nearly ready to take his claim to trial. With a little more help, we will be able to fund the best representation available.
Our confidence in Nathan’s case is confirmed by the decision of the University of Cambridge to take no disciplinary action against him. As reported in the Times of London, Cambridge has acknowledged its obligation to ‘secure and promote freedom of speech and provide an environment for open and sometimes robust debate’. Its statement can be read online here.
Emmanuel College, however, continues to defend its decision to dismiss Nathan, leaving him no choice but to ask the court to uphold his right to academic freedom. In light of the University’s decision to uphold Nathan’s academic freedom, we think Emmanuel’s position is untenable.
The trial will take place on a date to be confirmed between November this year and January next year. We remain convinced that victory in Nathan’s claim will be a watershed moment for academic freedom in the United Kingdom. If we can establish the freedom to research this intensely controversial area, then we will have succeeded in setting a very high bar for any attempt to censor academics.
Nathan has worked tremendously hard to secure further funding, and has received a match-funding offer of £30,000. We are asking for your generous further help to unlock this offer – if we can match it, then every pound you give up to that amount will be matched by the donor. This will enable Nathan to retain the services of Tom Cross KC, a leading advocate in freedom of speech and conscience cases.
If you are able to, please help Nathan get across the line and win this case.
Yours sincerely,
Lord Young of Acton
Director, The Free Speech Union