University of Sussex taking legal action over £585,000 free speech fine

Vice-chancellor Sasha Roseneil accuses Office for Students of seeking to persecute' rather than solve problems

The University of Sussex is taking legal action to overturn a record fine levied by England's higher education regulator, accusing the regulator of seeking to persecute" it rather than solve problems.

This week the Office for Students (OfS) said it would fine Sussex 585,000 for two historic" breaches of its regulations related to freedom of speech and governance. It comes after a three-and-a-half-year investigation into the resignation of Prof Kathleen Stock, who was the target of protests at Sussex over her views on gender identification and transgender rights.