Mick Hartley

The latest in the Gonville and Caius affair – where Pippa and Andrew made a statement a couple of weeks back, prior to a talk by gender-critical author Helen Joyce. It didn't go down well with many, including supporters of free speech, and cash-donating alumni who announced themselves to be embarrassed, appalled and absolutely disgusted. Anyway the college master – that'll be Pippa – has finally spoken out.

A Cambridge college master who is under fire for calling a gender-critical speaker “hateful” has written to alumni after furious donors said they were considering pulling their funding.

Prof Pippa Rogerson, head of Gonville and Caius College, wrote to graduates last week saying that free speech was "fundamental".

It comes after Helen Joyce, an author and former Economist journalist, was invited to the college by Prof Arif Ahmed, a fellow, for a debate on gender ideology.

But Prof Rogerson joined Dr Andrew Spencer, the college’s senior tutor, in vowing to boycott the talk. They emailed all of the students stating Ms Joyce’s views were “offensive, insulting and hateful to members of our community who live and work here”.

Ms Joyce believes biological sex is binary and immutable, but is being overridden by self-identified genders espoused by trans activists.

The intervention by the college chiefs – before Ms Joyce spoke – led to donors telling The Telegraph they were “embarrassed, appalled and absolutely disgusted” and would not give any more without a retraction and apology.

Nick Sallnow-Smith, 72, who graduated from Gonville and Caius in 1973 and now convenes its Hong Kong chapter, said “with people like that in charge I will never donate again”.

But in her letter, Prof Rogerson refused to apologise, instead telling alumni “we expressed our personal opinions – as is our right”.

Acknowledging there were “difficult and complex discussions” around trans matters, she insisted: “I have read a great deal around this area, including Helen Joyce’s book and related media, and listened to podcasts.

“Having given the matter a lot of thought I disagree with her views, the way she presents them and the way in which she responds to those who disagree with her.”

In what way has Helen Joyce responded to those who disagree with her that Pippa finds so appalling? Has she threatened to kill her opponents? – to block their careers? – to have their pets mutilated by gangs of gender-critical thugs? Of course not: she just debates. Something that Pippa refuses to do, preferring to throw out innuendo and insults. She used her position as college head to denounce Joyce's views as hateful without the courtesy of actually specifying precisely what she finds so hateful – and all, it seems, to ingratiate herself with the prevailing trans-friendly climate: the actions of a careerist rather than the actions of a responsible academic who cares about free speech and open debate.

Some Cambridge alumni regarded the response as defiant and it is understood that more have since written in to complain. Others are threatening to pull bequests or urge their own children not to attend the university.

William Mackesy, of the Alumni For Free Speech group, a new cross-campus network, said: “Her email ducked the free speech problems, other than claiming her own free speech rights… They are in a pretty uncomfortable bunker. They should stop digging.” ….

Prof Ahmed claimed he had to smuggle some students into the lecture hall because they were “afraid of ostracism by their student peers”.

He said fear to speak freely “stalks the halls of academia”, with another row brewing over an invite to Prof Kathleen Stock – a philosophy expert bullied out of Sussex University last year – to the Cambridge Union later this month.

Ha. Something to look forward to…