(MENAFN) British university staff are being advised to "risk-assess and manage" events on campus relating to "contentious" issues including Palestine and criticism of Western foreign policy in the Middle East in order to demonstrate their compliance with the government's Prevent counter-extremism strategy.
Critics fear that the guidance, which is contained in an online training presentation, is already stifling free speech and political expression, with one institution, the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), on Tuesday cancelling an event organised by a Friends of Palestine society because of concerns that it would not be "balanced".
Other issues for which higher education institutions are being instructed to put in place measures to ensure that "extremist views" are challenged include opposition to Prevent itself following vigorous campaigning against the strategy by the National Union of Students (NUS) and the University and College Union (UCU), which represents more than 100,000 university staff.
"Vocal support for Palestine", "Opposition to Israeli settlements in Gaza", "Criticism of wars in the Middle East" and "Opposition to Prevent" are included in a list of "contentious topics" in the presentation on a website, Safe Campus Communities, created for university staff to help them fulfil their Prevent Duty obligations.
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