On 29 April 2026 the High Court handed down judgment in The University of Sussex, R (On the Application Of) v The Office for Students [2026] EWHC 984 (Admin). This is the most important regulatory judicial review for the education sector in recent times. It considered a plethora of issues concerning universities’ responsibilities in relation to free speech.
The challenge was to the decision of the Office for Students that the University of Sussex was in breach of two registration conditions, and to fine the university £585,000 in respect of those breaches. The Office for Students exercised its powers under the Higher Education and Research Act 2017. The fine was issued over the university’s trans and non-binary inclusion policy. The case concerned the impact of the policy on free speech.
The court held that the Office of Students’ decision to fine the university was unlawful, and overturned the fine.
Tom Cross KC and Zoe Gannon acted for the Intervener, the Free Speech Union, instructed by Sharpe Pritchard LLP.
The full judgment can be found here.
The case has been widely reported in the press, including in the BBC, The Guardian, The Times and The Telegraph.
For more information about Tom and Zoe’s practices or instructing them please contact clerksroom@11kbw.com.
