A letter to Northumbria University

What was the legal basis for your restriction of my emails as a 'safety and well being issue'?

FAO Professor Tom Lawson and Simon Corbett

To whom it may concern

I wish to raise a formal complaint about what is contained in the response to my FOIA request, attached to this email. If I have not identified the correct people to whom this complaint should be directed, I would be grateful if you could forward it to the relevant person/department.

Background to my FOIA request

On 4th May 2022 I attended a seminar at your institution regarding hate crimes and freedom of speech, organised by Dr Kyri Kotsoglou. He had invited me to speak and I had emailed him a copy of my proposed presentation in advance so that he could offer any necessary comments.

On attending the seminar I was surprised to be informed by Dr Kotsoglou that it had taken some days for my email to reach him as it had apparently been 'blocked' in some fashion at the request of another member of staff. 

I had no recollection of emailing any other member of your staff and could think of no legitimate reason to explain such interference with my email correspondence so I made a request for information, which you provided on 1st June 2022.

I note from the information disclosed that the complaint must have been made by Dr Craig Mclean, as a reference is made on 10th January 2022 to an email I sent to him with regard to his November 2021 publication 'The Growth of the anti-Transgender Movement in the United Kingdom; the Silent Radicalization of the British Electorate'. 

I had made contact as the lead author of the January 2022 report prepared by Fair Cop and The Women's Rights Network, in which I was critical of Dr Mclean's analysis and conclusions. I was interested in hearing his response to those criticisms.  A link to that report is here 

I had no reply and thought nothing further.  I note that Craig Mclean now apparently identifies as 'Anna Mclean'. I do not intend any discourtesy by referring to the name 'Craig', but it is the name attached to the report and the name of the person I originally emailed. I do note however that this transition suggests a particular vested interest in the issues of transgenderism. I suggest it is reasonable to expect an academic to make this clear when advancing the bizarre proposition that those who object to the primacy of gender identity ideology over the protected characteristic of sex, should been seen as threats to national security. 

I note from the information you disclosed to me, that my request for clarification then sparked an email on 17th February from within your institution about me and another person  - I assume Harry Miller - expressing 'concern' about our invitation to speak at Dr Kotsologu's seminar because of our membership of 'Fair Cop'  This is seen as a 'safety and wellbeing issue'. 

This 'concern' is expanded upon in some communication dated 25th April 2022, asserting that Fair Cop has compared police officers to Nazis, threatened legal action against the police for joining political marches and made social media postings using the hashtag #SayYesToHate on 'days of LGBTQ* significance'. 

All of this activity on behalf of Fair Cop is confirmed as protected political speech and/or the expression of a belief protected pursuant to the Equality Act 2010. You are at least aware of the December 2021 Court of Appeal judgment Miller v College of Policing with regard to the Article 10 point as you refer to it in earlier correspondence. 

Regardless of what you surely must have known about the protected nature of my speech, your institution nonetheless decided on 26th April 2022 that there was a 'redirect' on all my emails which would be 'blocked' and go to an unidentified person for approval. 

My complaint

I do not believe you have any lawful basis for taking this action to restrict my email correspondence with Dr Kotsologu. I consider your actions represent unlawful interference with 

• my Article 10 rights, 

• my protected 'gender critical' beliefs pursuant to the Equality Act

• my personal and sensitive data. 

• section 43 of the Education (No 2) Act 1986

To suggest that my membership of Fair Cop and support of its lawful campaigns, represents a 'safety and wellbeing issue' is ridiculous and potentially highly damaging to my reputation. 

What can you do to resolve this complaint

I would like you to set out clearly the legal basis on which you justified such interference with my email correspondence so that I can consider if I need to take this matter further. 

If you concede that you had in fact no such legal basis, I request an apology and reassurances that no similar unlawful action will be sanctioned by your institution again. 

I will forward a copy of this email to my MP Michelle Donellan who is also the current Minister of State for Universities, so that she is aware. I will also publish this email to my Substack, as I consider it a matter of significant public interest. 

Yours faithfully 

Sarah Phillimore