Dozens of academics and celebrities urge Oxford University to block Jason Arday accuser from speaking at event

Dozens of MPs and campaigners have signed an open letter demanding the cancellation of an event featuring Jason Arday’s accuser Nathan Cofnas at an Oxford college.

Professor Arday, who was Cambridge University’s youngest ever Black professor, was found dead at his Battersea home in August this year after accusations of plagiarism, which were sparked by a blog post by academic and self-defined “race realist” Mr Cofnas.

The talk, organised by Oxon Universities’ Reform Society (OURS), is titled: “An evening with Nathan Cofnas: Is DEI undermining higher education?” and is set to be held at Oriel College’s Harris lecture hall on 17 November.

But it has attracted widespread criticism from students and now a series of high-profile politicians and campaigners including Diane Abbott, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Afua Hirsch, and Gary Younge, who have signed an open letter supported by Stand Up to Racism calling for the event to be axed.

“We value academic freedom,” the letter penned by Oxford Students’ Coalition against Racism and supported by Stand Up to Racism and Black Lives Matter UK reads. “But free speech does not extinguish duties under the Equality Act 2010, including the Public Sector Equality Duty. Nor does it remove responsibility for the safety and welfare of Black students and staff.”

Clapham and Brixton Hill MP Ms Ribeiro-Addy said: “Black students and staff should not have to defend their place at university against claims of racial inferiority. Academic freedom is no excuse for giving scientific racism a platform. I urge Oriel College to cancel this event and listen to the Black students and staff whose concerns deserve to be taken seriously.”

The letter calls on Oriel College to cancel the event immediately, or to postpone it until it has published a full risk assessment for the talk and proven how it will safeguard black students and staff. The signatories have also asked for an independent review to be commissioned into the decision to hold the event.

“We, the undersigned, demand cancellation of the Oxford University Reform UK Society’s invitation to Nathan Cofnas to speak at Oriel College on 17 November, at an event titled “Is DEI Undermining Higher Education?”,’ the letter reads.

“Cofnas is not simply a critic of diversity policy. He is a self-described “race realist” who argues that genes contribute to racial group differences in intelligence. Contemporary genetics has rejected the scientific racism and eugenics which Cofnas draws upon. He has claimed that in a meritocracy ‘the number of black professors would approach 0 per cent’.”

“He also publicly questioned Professor Jason Arday’s appointment, asking whether Cambridge believed “the only way to have black professors is to abandon all standards.” An inquest into Professor Arday’s death is ongoing. Out of respect for that process and for his family, we say no more.

“Reform UK claims recent revelations of racism in its ranks concern a few “bad apples.” Yet its Oxford society is willing to promote racist ideas. Ideas platformed at Oxford do not stay in the lecture theatre. They travel through social media and political debate, carrying the University’s authority.”

The signatories include a number of prominent campaigners, politicians, and celebrities including Beverley Knight, Professor Sir Patrick Vernon, Jeremy Corbyn, Nadia Whittome, and actor Zawe Ashton. Academic signatories include Professor Elleke Boehmer, Professor Robert Gildea, and Professor Jane Hiddleston.

It comes after a number of campaign groups, academics, and Oxford alumni signed a separate open letter calling for Oriel to “withdraw its facilities from the event”.

The signatories argued the event “risks creating a hostile and exclusionary environment for students, particularly those of ethnic minorities” and “risks undermining Oriel’s role as a world-class educational institution”.

In a statement on its website, Oriel College said: “Oriel College is committed to upholding freedom of speech within the law and has a statutory duty to do so. This includes the freedom to express views that many find deeply offensive.

“We are also committed to promoting inclusion and maintaining an environment that is free from all forms of discrimination and harassment, including racial discrimination.

“The event on 17 November is a student booking by a registered society at the University of Oxford.

“The College considers events booked by students who are committee members of registered societies according to our Code of Practice on Freedom of Speech. When an event is permitted, this does not imply endorsement by the College of the views of its speakers.

“When considering booking requests, the College takes seriously the security implications of events and the safety of its members.”

When approached for comment, Mr Cofnas told The Independent he and OURS had faced a torrent of abuse over the event and that he: “will have to deliver my talk from behind a wall of security guards”.