Good riddance

Free speech legislation paused, and David Behan to head the Office for Students

It took two years to pass, a year to appoint a director and six months to consult, but the Freedom of Speech (Higher Education) Act has been put on hold by the new Labour government, just days before its powers were due to come into effect. The news came in a parliamentary statement, which also saw career civil servant David Behan appointed as interim head of the Office for Students.

Behan—the former chair of Health Education England—was the author of a statutory review of the regulator for higher education in England, which was also published on Friday. The stinging report is the second critical assessment the OfS has received this academic year, following an inquiry in November by the Lords Industry and Regulators Committee.