Professor Steven Greer was one of the witnesses for an inquiry launched to investigate Government policy on free speech in universities, to examine whether there is evidence for suppression of speech, and to consider the roles and responsibilities of university authorities ensuring and monitoring free speech.
One of the policies discussed at the hearing was the ‘Prevent duty’. The Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 (CTSA) caused controversy by imposing this legal duty upon schools, universities, the NHS and other institutions to ‘have due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism’.
Research by Professor Steven Greer and Dr Lindsey Bell, however, argues that the campaign against the Act and the duty in higher education rests largely upon myths, six of which are particularly prevalent.
A recording of the Human Rights Committee meeting can be viewed here. Click here to watch Steven address the myths and misinformation surrounding the Prevent duty in a short video. To read the full article by Professor Steven Greer and Dr Lindsey Bell (‘Counter-Terrorist Law in British Universities: A Review of the “Prevent” Debate’, published in the journal Public Law) please click here.