A row has broken out after a university cancelled a European elections hustings due to be attended by a Ukip candidate under police investigation for speculating whether he would rape the MP Jess Phillips.
Carl Benjamin had been expected to attend the event organised by the debating society at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) on Friday but there had been growing calls for him to be banned from the debate and promises of protests.
UWE Bristol blamed concerns over security when it cancelled the event but has come under fire both from people who claim it is effectively no-platforming him and from others who argue it should have banned just him rather than calling off the debate.
Among those who had criticised the decision to invite Benjamin was the Green candidate Carla Denyer, who was also due to attend.
She had threatened to boycott it, writing to the organisers: “Please remove Carl Benjamin from the billing or I will not be able to take part. I hope the same will be true of many of my fellow candidates from across the political spectrum.”
Denyer explained: “The dangerous creep of the far right into mainstream politics is enabled by well-meaning people offering them platforms out of a sense of fairness. But while the protection of free speech is important, we have to guard against the far right taking advantage of it.”
After the event was cancelled, Denyer said the better option would have been to ban Benjamin. “I’m very disappointed UWE Bristol cancelled the event rather than simply remove Benjamin,” she said.
A fellow Green EU election candidate, Cleo Lake, said: “It is wholly unacceptable that Carl Benjamin be given a platform, especially in a diverse and inclusive city like Bristol. Creating fear of social unrest is a key tactic of the far right and we should not play into it.”
The Greens’ stance was criticised by the Tory MEP Ashley Fox. He said Benjamin’s comments were disgusting but added: “In a democracy we counter bad ideas with good ones – not stopping debate.”
Protests had been inevitable. The group Bristol Antifascists had called for people to meet at the Frenchay campus car park to demonstrate against Benjamin.
In a statement, UWE Bristol said: “As a university, we are wholly committed to the principle of freedom of speech and we have a long history of regularly welcoming a diversity of speakers on to our campuses to spark discussion and debate with our students, staff and visitors.
“However, we also have a duty of care to everyone on our campus and to ensure that they are secure and safe.”
The statement said both Avon and Somerset police and the university security team considered the event to be too high risk to hold on campus as it required significant security measures.
Avon and Somerset police said the decision to cancel was one for the university and students’ union to make.
Freddie Gough, a spokesman for the students’ union, said: “We will continue to support our societies to exercise their right to freedom of speech and remain committed to enabling students to organise a range of events that promote debate.”