University hosted dinner with Reform UK figure two weeks before ‘free speech’ row erupted

Martin Shipton

Bangor University has confirmed that its Vice Chancellor hosted a dinner for a senior Reform UK figure two weeks before a row erupted when a student society refused to invite one of the party’s MPs to address a meeting.

Early in February Zia Yusuf, now Reform’s Home Affairs spokesperson, launched a strong verbal attack on the university after its student Debating and Political Society rejected a suggestion by the party that its Runcorn and Helsby MP Sarah Pochin should appear at a Q&A session with Nigel Farage’s social media adviser Jack Anderton.

The student society issued a statement at the time which said: “In line with our values, this request was refused.

“We stand by this decision as a committee. We have zero tolerance for any form of racism, transphobia or homophobia displayed by the members of Reform UK. Their approach to the lives of others is antithetical to the values of welcoming and fair debate that our society has upheld for 177 years.

“We are proud to be the first of the debating unions to take a stand against Reform UK. We strongly implore our fellow societies to join us in keeping hate out of our universities.”

Anderton had previously suggested that Britain would be better off had it stayed neutral in the second world war instead of fighting Nazi Germany, claimed the UK should not support Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression and argued that in a future world of “meritocracy”, the UK could “regain” former colonies such as Australia, Canada and South Africa.

Pochin had been forced to apologise after stating: “It drives me mad when I see adverts full of black people, full of Asian people.”

Yusuf responded to the debating society with an angry post on X that said: “Bangor University have [sic] banned Reform and called us ‘racist, transphobic and homophobic’.

“Bangor receives £30m in state funding a year, much of which comes from Reform-voting taxpayers. I am sure they won’t mind losing every penny of that state funding under a Reform government. After all, they wouldn’t want a racist’s money, would they?”

For many, Yusuf’s comments evoked comparisons with the behaviour of President Trump in the US, who has sought to defund what he regards as left-wing universities, including some of the most iconic like Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Columbia University in New York.

One Nation.Cymru reader pointed out: “It’s not a university ban. It’s one small group of students who’ve decided they don’t want to host you – as is their right.”

Sources within Bangor University contacted us this week to express concern that the Vice Chancellor, Professor Edmund Burke appeared to be seeking to placate Reform UK at the cost of supporting students.

It was suggested that Prof Burke recently had dinner in the university with David Jones, the former Conservative Secretary of State for Wales who was MP for Clwyd West from 2005 to 2024 and is now a member of Reform.

It was also suggested that the dinner had been created by the Vice Chancellor’s personal chef, that a new salary increase for the VC was being processed, and that the university executive was considering not having a stand at this year’s National Eisteddfod in north Pembrokeshire to save money.

‘Normal’

A spokesperson for Bangor University responded: “It is normal and expected for university leadership, including vice chancellors, to meet with political figures from across the political spectrum to discuss emerging policy and its potential implications for the sector. Such engagement is routine across UK higher education and ensures that universities can effectively represent their interests, contribute to informed policymaking, and understand the direction of future legislative developments.

“As part of this routine engagement, the Vice Chancellor, who in his role remains politically neutral, has held dinner meetings with representatives from political parties across the spectrum and with civil servants. One such meeting included a dinner with David Jones. This meeting took place two weeks before the social media story referenced and therefore cannot be characterised as an attempt to respond to, or influence, that issue.

“The dinner was in the University’s Management Centre Restaurant, off the restaurant’s standard menu. The Vice Chancellor does not have a personal chef.”

Addressing the other two points, the spokesperson said: “There is no proposal to increase the Vice Chancellor’s salary.

“The University will be hosting a stand at the upcoming National Eisteddfod, as part of its regular outreach and public engagement activities.”