What do you think? Students try to bar UK Independence Party from event on University of East Anglia campus

Steve Emmens - UKIP's candidate who will be speaking at a University of East Anglia event Submitted

University of East Anglia students have launched a campaign to try and stop an event attended by UK Independence Party candidates from being held on the Norwich campus.

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Timea Suli, an international public policy and public management student, has gathered more than 900 signatures on an online petition calling for an event with UK Independence Party members to be barred from the Norfolk university’s campus.

The event has not been organised by the university, but by its political debating society, and is set to be held in a lecture theatre tonight.

UKIP Norwich South candidate Steve Emmens and his party chairman Eric Masters were invited to speak.

UKIP Broadland candidate and MEP Stuart Agnew said the petition was an “extraordinary assault on freedom of speech” and “very bad for democracy”.

“They should be prepared to debate on issues with the party that won the European elections,” he said.

“They have a vote like anybody else, and they should be prepared to exercise it. They would not be getting the full story.”

The party now has two MPs in the House of Commons, including former University of East Anglia student Douglas Carswell.

But 23-year-old Miss Suli said a number of UEA students were “appalled and insulted” that UKIP had been invited to speak at the university, and criticised the party’s “aggressive rhetoric”.

“We are hoping to gain attention on the issue and encourage support from people who believe that UKIP do not deserve a podium at our tolerant campus.”

The petition, which by this morning had 930 signatories, states: “We are asking UEA to cancel the event and organise it at a location away from the University campus. This is in order to protect students who feel intimidated or degraded by the party. Help us keep our campus a safe, productive, and caring place, where we can all work together regardless of who we are and where we come from.

“The University of East Anglia, and its campus, is home to thousands of international, EU, and national students who are representative of many cultures, countries, and languages. Our university is known as an advocate of diversity, integration, and tolerance. It is a safe place for people from all over the world to learn, discuss, and socialise.

While UKIP’s Norwich South Branch chairman, Eric Masters, who is due to speak said: “UKIP Norwich South is very pleased that it has been offered an opportunity to discuss openly its views on our country and its place in the world, which we have accepted and takes place tonight at the UEA.”

He described the petition as “insulting and libellous”.

“If by the word ‘nationalistic’ the petition means “a person who advocates political independence for a country,” then yes, we in UKIP proudly advocate leaving the EU, which is a political entity and should not be confused with Europe of which our country is a natural geographical part .”

He added: “Far from being anti-immigration UKIP supports the policy of controlled entry, a position which is now shared by all mainstream parties, the significant difference between our policy and the rest is we would use a points based system that is successfully used by Australia.

“It is profoundly wrong for any member of an educational establishment to practice political censorship, in this case advocating that a mainstream political party be prevented from speaking on the campus.”

What do you think? Write (giving your full contact details) to: The Letters Editor, EDP, Prospect House, Rouen Road, Norwich NR1 1RE or email EDPLetters@archant.co.uk