Sheffield Universitys free speech society was told that it is a red risk and needs to have all external speakers vetted and approved.

The free speech society was informed that it must submit an application to the students union at least three weeks in advance each time it invites a speaker, and that full and final approval would be needed in order for the talk to go ahead.

Ewan Somerville, a third year politics and international relations student at Sheffield said he wanted to set up a free speech society as a reaction to "creeping censorship he feels on campus.

Last year, Sheffield students were urged not to wear sombreros as they are told to ensure Hallowe'en costumes are not "sexist, racist, ableist or transphobic".

In January, it emerged that the university is rolling out training for students on micro-aggressions such as asking Japanese students about sushi and confusing banana with plantain.

Mr Somerville said: We have these student union officers and even the university bosses who are projecting their own narrow world view on to the rest of the students. Most are too afraid to speak out.

He said he is hoping to invite speakers who are perfectly legitimate tut are currently deemed too offensive and anti woke such as the veteran feminist Julie Bindle and the journalist Toby Young.

Thomas Woollard, a third-year history student and vice-President of the free speech society, said he believed the university is becoming a "hostile environment".

"The only line that you can say is whatever the student unionbelieve is correct and anything else is considered wrong," he said.

"We are taking them to task over the hostility that they are causing to students in Sheffield who feel silenced by theirattitudes towards freedom of speech".

Sheffield is the latest university to set up a free speech society in recent years, following Bristol, Sussex, Buckingham and Aberdeen.

Ministers are now considering increasing the powers of the university regulator to ensure it has the authority to censor student bodies which fail to protect free speech.

The Education Secretary said that it isunacceptable that two speakers were no-platformed at events in Oxford last week.

One Oxford college launched an investigation into how a female historian was barred from a feminist event.

Jake Verity, president of Sheffields student union, said that their 'risk' classification for student societies is based on how much staff resource will be required to support them.

Sheffield Students Union has a number of red risk student groups spanning media, sport, cooking, arts, and campaigning, he said.

The Free Speech Society stated that their activity would involve regularly hosting events with high profile external speakers.

Since the students union requires all events with an external speaker to be risk assessed, the society will require greater staff resource, he added.

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University free speech society told it is a 'red risk' and needs to have all external speakers vetted - Telegraph.co.uk