Arif Ahmed, a Caius fellow and Philosophy professor, has been appointed the new 'free speech tsar' for universities by Rishi Sunak.

The new position, known as ‘director for freedom of speech and academic freedom,’ is a full-time governmental role with a salary of £99,164.

The title, created as part of the new Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act which became law on May 11, will allow Ahmed to investigate universities and student unions in England and Wales. Ahmed will also advise the Office for Students, which will have the power to hand out fines to universities that cancel a talk due to internal pressure from students.

Writing in The Times, Ahmed said that the idea of “settling disputes by discussion not censorship” is fading at British universities, before going on to claim that “democracy is at stake”.

Professor Ahmed also stated that he would act “impartially”, promising to defend “post-colonial theory as much as gender critical feminism”.

The academic has been involved in several controversies at the university in the past. In 2021, he was named in an investigation by the Byline Times into Republican billionaire Peter Thiel’s links to a group of influential UK academics, renowned for their ‘free speech’ advocacy.

Other academics named in the investigation included Dr James Orr, from the Faculty of Divinity. Orr has since played a leading role at the recent National Conservatism Conference, which sparked controversy after speakers’ remarks about “cultural marxism” were criticised for being rooted in antisemitic conspiracy theories.

Ahmed’s Michaelmas term invitation of ‘gender-critical’ writer Helen Joyce also sparked protests from students.

The University of Cambridge and acting vice-chancellor Anthony Freeling have congratulated Ahmed over his appointment.

This is the second major post Ahmed has landed. Last Michaelmas also saw Ahmed appointed to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) board by minister for women and equalities Kemi Badenoch.

Ahmed has been tipped for the new position since January, and the announcement comes after high-profile protests against the Oxford Union’s invitation of Kathleen Stock, a ‘gender-critical’ feminist.

The bill, under which Ahmed will receive his new role, was criticised by the Union of Jewish Students, last year. The president, Joel Rosen, wrote that the legislation could afford “a range of extremists, including Holocaust deniers, legal recourse to obtain compensation if they are denied a platform”.