King's College London Students' Union (KCLSU) work closely with King's College London (King's) to help the University in its aspirations to be an intellectually rich and diverse environment where students, staff and visitors can freely exchange ideas and opinions, some of which may be contentious or discomforting. Such exchanges take place in classrooms and at various events organised by our members and groups.

We care deeply about sustaining a healthy environment for freedom of expression and have developed a Joint Statement on Freedom of Expression, which sets out the values and principles. This Joint Statement on Freedom of Expression was most recently updated in December 2024.

 

King's and KCLSU Joint Statement on Freedom of Expression

King's College London Students' Union (KCLSU) and King's are committed to upholding academic freedom and the values of freedom of speech, freedom of thought, freedom of conscience and religion, freedom of assembly and freedom to lawfully protest or demonstrate. We refer collectively to these as our commitment to upholding freedom of expression.

Human progress rests on the free exchange and testing of ideas and opinions, some of which may be contentious or discomforting. We seek to provide an open, safe and intellectually vibrant environment to explore ideas, generate and critique evidence, express opinions and debate a wide variety of topics. Individuals, institutions and societies thrive when they enjoy an abundance of freedoms within the framework of the law.

We expect our students, staff and visiting speakers at King's and KCLSU to engage with civility, being mindful of our common humanity and the dignity and privacy of others, and tolerant of the right of others to exercise their freedom of expression. The King's Community Charter elaborates on the values and behaviours the University either expects or encourages within our student and staff community.

KCLSU and King's recognise that our statutory duties relating to freedom of expression and academic freedom must be implemented with regard to our other obligations under UK law. This includes our duties to foster good community relations, equality of opportunity, and ensure the safety of our students, staff and visitors. Both KCLSU and King's have policies to give effect to these commitments.

 

FAQs on freedom of expression and related matters at King's College London

 

What is freedom of expression and what is King's approach to it?

Freedom of expression is a broad concept that KCLSU and King's regards as being inclusive of free speech, freedom of conscience and belief, the freedom to assemble and protest, and academic freedom.

These freedoms or rights apply within the parameters of UK law and are also upheld by Article 10 of the Council of Europe's European Convention on Human Rights, which the UK has signed.

KCLSU and King's seek to provide an open, safe and intellectually vibrant environment to explore ideas, generate and critique evidence, express opinions and debate a wide variety of topics. King's respects and affirms the right of our students and staff to express views and opinions and promote information in the course of their day-to-day lives both on and off campus as long as it is within the parameters of the law.

We expect the students and staff of King's to engage with civility, being mindful of our common humanity and the dignity and privacy of others, and tolerant of the right of others to exercise their freedom of expression.

Our Statement on Freedom of Expression published jointly with KCLSU and King's and the King's Community Charter sets out our shared values and principles.

 

How does King's comply with UK law?

There are various statutory duties and regulatory requirements placed on King's and other higher education providers relating to freedom of speech, equality law and national security and counter-terrorism.

We are specifically required to maintain a statutory code of practice on freedom of speech. This is available to read here. We keep our institutional policies, procedures and processes for dealing with matters pertaining to freedom of expression under review.

 

What are the Chicago Principles and how do they relate to King's?

The Chicago Principles are a set of guiding principles intended to demonstrate a commitment to freedom of speech and freedom of expression on college and university campuses in the USA. Initially developed by the University of Chicago in 2014, they came to be known as the "Chicago principles" after other universities across the US committed to their principles.

The King's Joint Statement on Freedom of Expression with KCLSU is inspired by the Chicago Principles and has similar goals but reflects the different jurisdictions and laws of the US and the UK. More information about the Chicago Principles.

 

Are there restrictions on events and speakers at KCLSU and King's, and if so, what are these and why?

Our guiding principle is that everyone has the right to free speech within the parameters of the law, and we take reasonably practicable steps to ensure as many proposed events can take place as possible.

King's takes pride in the wide range of views expressed here, enabling thousands of speaker events, cultural events, and screenings and exhibitions to take place each academic year.

When a proposed event is risk-assessed as being of a medium or high risk, KCLSU and King's can impose conditions or mitigations to manage those risks. We aim to take a balanced approach to ensure events can take place, while ensuring the safety and security of staff, students, speakers and other attendees.

King's institutional expectations and operational guidelines in relation to the conduct of protests and contentious events are available here.

 

What approach does King's take to religious discrimination?

There is no place for religious hatred or discrimination against individuals and groups on the basis of their faith at KCLSU and King's.

As part of our approach to ensuring safe and inclusive environments for our students and staff, the University has adopted both the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of antisemitism and the definition of Islamophobia developed by Dr Chris Allen from the University of Birmingham and presented to the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee in 2016. King's takes these into account in the policies and procedures our staff follow in the assessment of events, complaints and other matters.  

For avoidance of doubt, whilst explicit statements on antisemitism and Islamophobia have been formally accepted by King's, it is worth stressing that the University does not tolerate any religious or other forms of discrimination, hate speech or incitements to violence.

 

What is the role of The Freedom of Expression Standing Advisory Group?

The Freedom of Expression Standing Advisory Group (FESAG) was established in 2018 to operationalise the Joint Statement on Freedom of Expression agreed between the University and the KCLSU. It is a joint committee between the University and the KLCSU, co-chaired by an appointed member of the University Executive and the President of KCLSU and having equal membership from both parties.

Key elements of its terms of reference include:

• Advising the University Executive on policies and procedures related to freedom of expression, also in light of legal and policy changes
• Developing, implementing and overseeing a single risk assessment process for student society events with external speakers
• Agreeing a common and transparent understanding of 'risk' associated with events with speakers and a consistent and reasoned set of mitigations for managing risks
• Supporting review and updating guidance for students and staff on peaceful protest at King's
• Supporting review of complaints about freedom of expression at King's.