The Britain in Europe think tank at Brunel University London has written to Chris Heaton-Harris, Conservative MP for Daventry and government whip, in response to his letter to UK vice-chancellors asking for the ‘names of professors’ teaching Brexit-related material.
Brunel academics represent eight of the 21 initial signatories of the letter, which asks the MP to:
- retract his letter to vice-chancellors
- provide a full explanation of what it was aiming to achieve
- identify any government policy that may have underpinned it.
Britain in Europe and the Knowing Our Rights research project also call upon the European Parliament and other relevant European institutions to raise this issue with the UK Government, particularly in the context of the ongoing Brexit negotiations.
Britain in Europe Director Dr Dimitrios Giannoulopoulos, Senior Lecturer in Criminal Law at Brunel University London, commented: “Academic freedom and freedom of expression are absolutely core pan-European values. To attack these values on what appear to be highly partisan grounds is not only hypocritical but an affront to the democratic institutions and processes that enabled the holding of the referendum in the first place.”
Read the full letter here.
Reported by:
Joe Buchanunn,
Media Relations
joe.buchanunn@brunel.ac.uk