A prominent academic who led a recent government review into sex and gender data collection has threatened legal action against the University of Bristol, claiming it failed to protect her freedom of speech.
Prof. Alice Sullivan has also written to the university regulator, the Office for Students (OfS), after a talk she gave at the university was disrupted by a trans rights protest.
Universities have a legal duty to uphold the right to free speech while balancing that with the right to protest by those who object.
The University of Bristol rejected her claims and said the talk went ahead safely – despite “unacceptable disruption” – in line with its “strong commitment to upholding free speech”.
Universities have a longstanding legal obligation to protect the rights of staff, students, and visiting speakers to express views that others might find offensive.
That has come into sharper focus with a new freedom of speech law in higher education, which came into force in August in England.
The University of Bristol said every action it had taken was in support of free speech.
Prof. Sullivan’s review for the government, published in March, recommended that data on biological sex and gender identity should be recorded as distinct categories.
She said she was first invited to speak about her work by an academic at the University of Bristol in July 2024 and agreed to an event that autumn.
In a new letter to the university, which warns she is willing to bring a legal challenge, Prof. Sullivan’s lawyers claimed that complaints about transphobia from the LGBTQ+ staff network were given priority and influenced the university.
She accused the university of restricting her freedom of speech in several ways:
- The university restricted the number of attendees to 60, which included staff, postgraduate students, and members of the public.
- Undergraduate students are prohibited from attending.
- Limited advertising was provided for the event.
- A venue for the event being chosen which was vulnerable to protests
- Reasonable steps not being taken to prevent the talk being disrupted
The OfS published guidance for universities on how the new law on upholding free speech might work when it came into effect in August.
Universities should not deny the use of their premises.
It says universities should not deny the use of their premises on the grounds of a speaker’s opinions or ideas and should have a clear process for making sure steps are taken to allow events to go ahead.
It says universities should not “interfere with free speech or academic freedom any more than is necessary to ensure that the event goes ahead safely and within the law”.
The letter from Prof. Sullivan’s lawyers says the University of Bristol had first suggested the event be held online, rather than in person.
When asked by the BBC why she had rejected that offer, Prof. Sullivan said she did not realise what the scale of potential protests would be but accepted that some people might have strongly opposing views on gender identity and had the right to express them.
“Everyone has a right to peaceful protest, but that must never amount to a heckler’s veto, which means shutting down other people’s right to speak,” she said.
“This isn’t just about my rights as a visiting speaker; this is about the rights of the university community to hold discussions and to have people come and listen.”
Following a delay, the event was scheduled for 22 October 2025.
As Prof. Sullivan arrived, some attendees filmed the protest on their phones at the front of the building.
Videos – seen and verified by the BBC – show some of the protesters making rude gestures as others held signs.
Prof. Sullivan told the BBC it was like a “zombie apocalypse” as some protesters pressed up against the window with placards and loudhailers.
The fire alarm was set off more than once, disrupting the talk, until security staff advised they move to a higher floor.
As she left after the event, Prof. Sullivan said she heard “howls of ‘shame on you, shame on you'”.
The police confirmed to the BBC that they were present at the event and reported no arrests.
The letter that has now been sent by Prof. Sullivan’s lawyers says the University of Bristol had 15 months to find a secure location on campus for the talk.
The university’s disclosed documents indicate that its LGBTQ+ staff network lodged complaints against her speaking.
Prof. Sullivan says she has raised many of her concerns with the OfS, which, as regulator of universities in England, has the power to fine institutions if they fail to uphold freedom of speech.
Earlier this year, the OfS handed out a record fine of £585,000 to the University of Sussex, warning that its transgender and non-binary inclusion policy had a “chilling effect” on freedom of speech.
Kathleen Stock had previously left her job as professor of philosophy at Sussex following protests against her gender-critical views, which generally say that a person’s sex cannot be changed and takes precedence over their gender identity.
Following the Sussex fine, the University of Bristol withdrew a similar policy which said all staff were responsible for removing “transphobic and anti-trans material” from campus.
In August, a new freedom of speech law came into force, strengthening the legal obligations on universities to uphold freedom of speech.
The government has not yet implemented the complaints process that was promised as part of the new stronger powers.
Prof. Sullivan has told Arif Ahmed, the OfS’s director of free speech, she is concerned that “gender ideology” led to Bristol’s “actions to obstruct and frustrate my talk”.
She told the BBC that senior managers at the university “could have apologised, and they could have said we intend to do better in the future.”
A University of Bristol spokesperson said.
A University of Bristol spokesperson said the talk went ahead safely and was in line with the university’s “strong commitment to upholding free speech.”
“Although protesters caused unacceptable disruption, appropriate measures were in place to enable the event to continue and to protect the speaker and attendees,” they said.
The university added that the vice-chancellor had subsequently met Prof. Sullivan.
“We refute claims that we failed to protect her freedom of speech; every action we took was in support of this and the restrictions she outlines were all necessary for public safety,” the spokesperson said.
“Our stance is clear – free speech must be lawful. There is no protection under the law against abusive speech that incites violence, harassment, or discrimination.
“Clearly, the intimidating behaviour of protesters was not peaceful, and we have condemned their unacceptable behaviour.”
“We will take disciplinary action if anyone from the university community is identified as being involved.”
