“I am aware of concerns that the Act would be burdensome on providers and on the Office for Students (OfS), and I will confirm my long-term plans as soon as possible.”

The bill, which was introduced amid accusations of “cancel culture” in the university sector, requires that higher education providers, their constituent institutions, and students’ unions must protect freedom of speech and academic freedom. It also allows individuals to bring a legal case against their institution if it fails to protect their right to free speech.

The Free Speech Union, which advocated for the Bill, has criticised the move. An FSU statement said: “The Government’s attack on the Freedom of Speech Act is shocking. If Labour refuses to commence legislation passed in the last parliament, the Free Speech Union will bring judicial review proceedings.”

In comments made exclusively to UnHerd, FSU Director Toby Young called the decision “deeply depressing”, adding: “I fear it’s a sign of much worse to come, with a Westminster version of the Scottish Hate Crime Act” and “forcing newspapers and magazines to sign up to a state-controlled press regulator”.

Other than the act being “burdensome” to education providers, Phillipson did not elaborate on the reasons for the decision. However, earlier this week the Education Secretary told the BBC that the culture wars on university campuses “end here”.

The Union of Jewish Students, in contrast to the FSU, welcomed the decision. It said: “We are grateful to the Department for Education for listening to the concerns of Jewish students… The revocation of this act will ensure that, in the next year, guidance on free speech will still protect minority groups.” The UJS has deemed Phillipson’s move a “profound commitment to the welfare of minority groups” which “will make campus a better and a safer place for all students”.

In her statement, the Education Secretary said that a review had been carried out by the OfS, and thanked lead reviewer Sir David Behan. Previously chair of Health Education England, Behan has been appointed interim chair of the OfS.

The review concludes that the Higher Education Act creates too much regulation. It states: “One interviewee the review spoke to said that ‘[fee] increases last year, to reflect free speech functions, led to sector outrage’, due to some sector stakeholders being unhappy with the increase in the cost of regulation, at a time when tuition fee limits were frozen.” The review also claims that the bill was the “most oft-cited” example of “a wider sector perception of scope creep”.

This seems to suggest a change in direction for the OfS, which last year appointed Cambridge academic Arif Ahmed as its Director for Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom. Upon his appointment to the role, Ahmed told the Times: “We settle disputes by discussion, not censorship or violence. Today that idea is fading across our institutions. Universities must defend it. Democracy itself is at stake.”

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Max Mitchell is UnHerd’s Assistant Editor, Newsroom.

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