The former Home Secretary Amber Rudd has criticised Oxford University students for being “rude” after her appearance at an International Women’s Day event was cancelled at short notice.
Rudd, who stood down as MP for Hastings in December, had been due to appear in an event organised by UN Women Oxford on Thursday, 5 March but was told 30 minutes before she was due on stage at 7.30pm that it had been cancelled.
If you’re trying to silence Amber Rudd you really are being anti-democratic. https://t.co/ZYvGZrSt6q
— Tom Watson (@tom_watson) March 6, 2020
She tweeted angrily about the decision and has garnered support from across the political spectrum.
Labour’s former Deputy Leader Tom Watson called the decision “anti-democratic”.
UN Women Oxford announced on Facebook they had decided to cancel the invitation after a majority vote on their committee.
Seriously?!?!? https://t.co/2Dzm1TDrVI
— James Cleverly (@JamesCleverly) March 6, 2020
They wrote: "Following a majority vote in committee, tonight’s event with speaker Amber Rudd has been cancelled. We are deeply sorry for all and any hurt caused to our members and other wom*n and non binary people in Oxford over this event."
Free speech is the bedrock of a democracy and Oxford University ought to lead the way rather than being snowflake central. https://t.co/GNI0LZNRvP
— Jacob Rees-Mogg (@Jacob_Rees_Mogg) March 6, 2020
Rudd said it was “badly judged and rude” to “no platform” her shortly before an event which was designed to encourage young women to get involved in politics.
getting amber rudd disinvited 30 minutes before her reputation-laundering IWD talk is a brilliantly feminist act and wonderfully rude. well done to all involved
— Amelia Horgan (@joan0fsnark) March 6, 2020
In April 2018 Rudd quit as Home Secretary after it emerged she had misled Parliament about internal Home Office targets to deport migrants. Many of those who were deported including members of the so-called Windrush generation, people who came from Jamaica and other former colonies in the Caribbean in the 1950s and 1960s to help work in Britain because of a shortage of manpower.
She returned to the Cabinet later but resigned in September 2019 and stood down as MP for Hastings.
This is why the Tories need to reform universities. Oxford’s censors are the next round of civil servants, politicians, lawyers and the rest, and they can’t handle a talk by Amber Rudd. (They can, really, but they’re addicted to the buzz of cancelling.)https://t.co/3X0k7nu3rs
— Charlotte Gill (@CharlotteCGill) March 6, 2020
