University speakers should not be banned from campus just because they "offend, shock or disturb" students, the Government's first "safe spaces" guidance says.

It is the first time in 30 years that ministers have intervened to protect free speech at universities, and follows widespread concern about censorship of “unfashionable” views.

The 53-page document, published today, says the universities must seek to “widen" debate rather than narrow it. It says that the starting point should be that any event can go ahead, so long as it is within the law.

This is the first Government intervention since the free speech duty imposed on in universities, polytechnics and colleges which was introduced as part of the Education Act in 1986.

Chris Skidmore, the universities minister, said that in recent years campuses have seen the emergence of so-called "safe spaces", where people are protected from opinions they find offensive. He described how "no platforming" has seen activists attempt to shut down speakers they disagree with.

Writing in The Daily Telegraph, he said that the rise of these phenomena have led to concerns about an “institutional hostility to free speech” on university campuses and an environment where people feel afraid to voice “unfashionable or controversial views”.