Angelos Sofocleous, assistant editor of Durham University, was fired over a 'transphobic' tweet

A student editor at a top university has been fired in a transphobia row after he tweeted that 'women don't have penises'.

Angelos Sofocleous, assistant editor at Durham University's philosophy journal 'Critique', was sacked from his post after just three days for writing a tweet deemed 'transphobic' by fellow students.

Mr Sofocleous, 24, from Cyprus, faced disciplinary action last month after he re-tweeted an article by The Spectator on his Twitter titled 'Is it a crime to say women don't have penises?', with the comment: 'RT if women don't have penises'.

The postgraduate philosophy and psychology student was dismissed from his position at the university after the tweet sparked outrage.

He was also fired from his position as editor of Durham University's online magazine The Bubble, and forced to resign as president of free speech society Humanist Students.

Mr Sofocleous stood by his comment which has sparked a row around trans rights and freedom of speech.

The postgraduate philosophy and psychology student posted an article on Twitter with the comment 'RT if women don't have penises'

The since deleted tweet has received backlash from former chair of LGBT Humanists Christopher Ward who claimed the post was 'factually incorrect' and not 'worthy of a debate'.

He wrote: 'As former chair of LGBT Humanists UK, the opposition I experienced from a number of longstanding Humanists members to trans people and trans issues was a stain on an otherwise great organisation.

'And here's the new President of Humanist Students RTing horrific transphobic s**t.'

Standing by his tweets, Mr Sofocleous wrote: 'I may be wrong and women might indeed have penises, although I don't believe that to be the case.

'But the backlash that took place after my comments, particularly within the organisation, convinced me that, unfortunately and surprisingly, there are certain issues within the humanist movement which are undebatable.

'No effort was made, beyond name-calling, derogatory comments, and ad hominem statements, to convince me of the truth of the other side's position.

'These events involved a retweet of mine saying 'RT if women don't have penises', and certain other criticisms of the transgender movement, as well as suggestions to improve the movement's actions.

He wrote in The Spectator in response to being fired: ‘I was told that the reason for my firing from the student journal was because I had "belittled trans experiences".

'The explanation for my removal as editor of Bubble was worse: my position at the magazine, I was told, required me to be impartial. Being impartial, however, requires having no views at all. At least when it comes to gender.’

Students and staff at Durham University were outraged over the 'transphobic' tweet posted by Mr Sofocleous. File photo

In August, Mr Sofocleous was sent an email from Ryan Lo, the president of the university's Philosophy Society, saying the group had taken a vote to relieve him of his position, deciding his tweets served to 'belittle trans experiences'.

Writing on the Critique journal's Facebook page, Mr Lo said: 'Durham University Philosophy Society has a duty to act within the best interests of all of its members, therefore is committed to equality and diversity and to our democratic principles as a group of Durham Student's Union.

'We do not tolerate practices of racism, sexism, or trans-exclusionary sentiments.'

The new editor-in-chief of Critique, Sebastián Sánchez-Schilling, tweeted saying he was 'happy to announce' the publication would not be 'tolerating trans-exclusionary radical feminists or bowing to their pressure'.

The twitter row has sparked debate over free speech.

Mr Sofocleous told Chronicle Live: 'What I said was a biological fact'.

'We've reached a weird era where we are sacking people for stating facts.

'Even if this is an opinion, people shouldn't be sacked for having it.

'We should be having healthy discussions instead of silencing people.

'It seems like we are taking steps backward.'

Journalist Toby Young replied to Mr Sánchez-Schilling, tweeting: 'As the editor of a philosophy journal at one of Britain's great universities, how do you justify not tolerating dissent from campus orthodoxies?

'Shouldn't you be encouraging debate about important issues rather than stifling it?'

Journalist Sian Griffiths posted on Twitter: 'This is an alarming story. Universities & student newspapers are places where it has always been free and fabulous to express a range of views.'

A spokesperson for Durham Students' Union said: 'We are confident in our commitment to protecting free speech through open debate and exchange of ideas, which are central to university education.

'When student society’s executive teams and members vote on elections and group decisions such as this one, we hope they consider Durham SU’s commitment to inclusivity, equality of opportunity for all, and the promotion of diversity, including all gender identities.

'How each individual votes is a matter of personal judgement and interpretation, this is fundamental to the democratic spirit of the group and is why we have policies in place so that these decisions can be voted on, not made arbitrarily.

'We endorse free speech for all students and in this case, the student is still speaking and people are listening, reflecting and reacting.

'Students can re-join any student society, even the ones they are no longer part of. They can even be re-elected through the democratic process the groups follows.'