Today, the Department for Education released a report titled “Higher Education: Free Speech and Academic Freedom”, which recognises the harmful effects of censorship at UK universities, and lays out new proposals to tackle the problem.

Are universities stifling students’ views? Midwifery student Julia Rynkiewicz believes so, and her newly-settled case provides one such example.

A midwifery student was forced to suspend her studies after facing a fitness to practise investigation over her involvement with a pro-life society. Julia Rynkiewicz, a final year midwifery student at the University of Nottingham, was subject to an almost 4-month long investigation after concerns were raised about her involvement with the “Nottingham Students for Life” society

A pro-life student society – “Nottingham Students for Life” – has been granted affiliation by the University of Nottingham Students’ Union after the initial decision to deny the group affiliation was challenged.