Free speech tsar ‘feared speaking out’ as a Cambridge academic

Britain’s new free speech tsar has said he feared speaking his mind as a Cambridge academic.

Prof Arif Ahmed, a former philosophy professor at the University of Cambridge, said he was afraid to question or discuss some topics in lectures and tutorials as an academic because of a fear of receiving complaints.

He said: “I’ve often felt hesitant to raise certain points or to mention certain issues, for instance, in the course of teaching.”

He will add: “But there are now persistent and widespread concerns that many in higher education are being silenced, either by the activity of the university or by its inactivity.