Tommy Robinson addresses Oxford Union after protesters block entrances

British far-right activist who addressed the Oxford Union debate

Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon, better known as Tommy Robinson, is a British far-right, anti-Islam activist. Described as "one of [the] UK's most prominent far-right activists", he co-founded the English Defence League (EDL), serving as its leader from 2009 to 2013.

Tommy Robinson's legal name

Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon, better known as Tommy Robinson, is a British far-right, anti-Islam activist. Described as "one of [the] UK's most prominent far-right activists", he co-founded the English Defence League (EDL), serving as its leader from 2009 to 2013.

location connected to the Oxford Union and the wider campus dispute

The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world’s second-oldest university in continuous operation. It grew rapidly from 1167, when Henry II prohibited English students from attending the University of Paris.

Belgian campus facing similar dilemmas over polarising speakers

De Katholieke Universiteit Leuven of KU Leuven is een katholieke universiteit, waarvan de hoofdcampus gevestigd is in de Belgische stad Leuven. De KU Leuven biedt ook opleidingen aan op haar campussen te Brussel, Antwerpen, Gent, Kortrijk, Brugge, Geel, Diepenbeek, Sint-Katelijne-Waver en Aalst. Zij is met 22.622 personeelsleden en 65.655 studenten niet alleen de grootste Nederlandstalige universiteit, maar ook de grootste universiteit van de Lage Landen.

Belgian campus facing similar dilemmas over polarising speakers

The Université libre de Bruxelles is a French-speaking research university in Brussels, Belgium. It has four campuses: the Solbosch/Solbos campus, the La Plaine/Het Plein campus, the Erasme/Erasmus campus, and the Gosselies campus.

Belgian campus facing similar dilemmas over polarising speakers

The Vrije Universiteit Brussel is a Dutch-speaking research university in Brussels, Belgium. It has four campuses: Brussels Humanities, Science and Engineering Campus, Brussels Health Campus, Brussels Technology Campus and Brussels Photonics Campus.

Belgian campus facing similar dilemmas over polarising speakers

Ghent University is a public research university located in Ghent, in the East Flanders province of Belgium.

organisation formerly led by Tommy Robinson

The English Defence League (EDL) was a far-right, Islamophobic organisation active in England from 2009 until the mid-late 2010s. A social movement and pressure group that employed street demonstrations as its main tactic, the EDL presented itself as a single-issue movement opposed to Islamism and Islamic extremism, although its rhetoric and actions targeted Islam and Muslims more widely.

English collegiate university from which Oxford Union is independent

The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world’s second-oldest university in continuous operation. It grew rapidly from 1167, when Henry II prohibited English students from attending the University of Paris.

college attended by Milo Donovan

Lincoln University is a public university in New Zealand that was formed in 1990 when Lincoln College, Canterbury was made independent of the University of Canterbury. Founded in 1878, it is the oldest agricultural teaching institution in the Southern Hemisphere. It remains the smallest university in New Zealand and one of the eight public universities.

debate speaker listed in the article

Laurence Paul Fox is an English actor, political activist, and founder and leader of the right-wing populist Reclaim Party. He made his acting debut in the film The Hole (2001) and his best-known role is James Hathaway in the television drama series Lewis (2006–2015).

political affiliation linked to Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg as a former cabinet minister

The Conservative and Unionist Party, commonly known as the Conservative Party and colloquially as the Tories, is a political party in the United Kingdom. It sits on the centre-right to right-wing of the left–right political spectrum.

debate speaker listed in the article

Jonathan Sacerdoti is a British broadcaster, journalist, and TV producer. He covers stories relating to the United Kingdom and Europe, as well as terrorism and extremism stories, race relations, Middle East analysis and the British royal family. He is also a public intellectual who has spoken widely in defence of Israel and against antisemitism.

author of a 2020 Routledge history tracing UK no platform tactics

publisher of Evan Smith's 2020 history

Routledge is an English multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and social science. The company publishes approximately 1,800 journals and 5,000 new books each year, and its backlist encompasses over 140,000 titles.

student organisation that adopted a formal no platform policy in April 1974

The National Union of Students (NUS) is a confederation of student unions across the United Kingdom. Approximately 600 student unions are affiliated, accounting for more than 95% of all higher and further education unions in the UK.

party whose leader Nick Griffin was invited by the Oxford Union in 2007

The British National Party (BNP) is a far-right, fascist political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and is led by Adam Walker. A fringe party, it has no elected representatives at any level of UK government. The party was founded in 1982, and reached its greatest level of success in the 2000s, when it had over fifty seats in local government, one seat on the London Assembly, and two Members of the European Parliament.

British National Party leader invited by the Oxford Union in 2007

Holocaust denier invited by the Oxford Union in 2007

David John Cawdell Irving is an English author who has written on the military and political history of the Second World War, especially Nazi Germany. He was found to be a Holocaust denier in a British court in 2000 as a result of a failed libel case.