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A leading academic who left the UK to teach in Australia after publishing a pro-Brexit paper says he is no longer able to work in the UK because universities are now “just places of indoctrination”.
Professor Michael Rainsborough says he decided to leave after losing his position as head of King's College London's Department of War Studies.
He recounted how, just a few weeks after his “scientific” article appeared, he was told that there had been complaints about his “leadership” and that it would be best if he stepped down.
Professor Rainsborough believes his demotion occurred because he did not align with the university's ideological position on leaving the EU.
When he was offered a job at an Australian military school, he decided to emigrate.
Professor Michael Rainsborough left the UK to teach in Australia after losing his position as Head of the Department of War Studies at King's College London (pictured)
Protesters gather during the National Rejoin March outside the Houses of Parliament in central London, September 28, 2024.
He told the Mail on Sunday: 'I would probably think twice about leaving if I hadn't been treated like that. I am sure that if I had stayed in the British university system my career would have gone nowhere. It was clear that my reputation had been tarnished.
“I didn't feel like I had anything to do with the British university system anymore, because if they prioritize ideology like that, they're not really universities. They are simply places of indoctrination.
Professor Rainsborough's feud with King's College began in late 2018 when he organized 'Endangered Speeches' – a series of speakers on the rise of cancel culture.
He said the dean of his faculty “draged him over the edge” after some students tried to get banned from giving his first lecture.
The author is Dr. Joanna Williams from Kent University, who criticized transgender ideology and the #MeToo movement.
He claims there was pressure on him to cancel the series but he refused, which meant his “card was marked”.
A few weeks later, in February 2019, he published an article on the website about the ongoing Brexit debate.
He stated that the article entitled “Britain's path to a dirty war” did not contain a clear position on Brexit because it had already taken place.
Dr Joanna Williams is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Kent and author of 'Academic Freedom in an Age of Conformity and Consumption of Higher Education'
Dr. Edward Skidelsky, founder of the Committee for Academic Freedom, said that Professor Rainsborough's experience was one of the worst cases his organization had encountered
He explained: “It has simply been said that if political elites generally start trying to ignore the democratically expressed will of the people, then over time it will lead to problems and social unrest.”
However, the article upset my colleagues, who filed a complaint to the university authorities.
In a meeting with the dean, he was told that “people were unhappy” and that he had to step down.
Discouraged from taking legal action, Professor Rainsborough said he agreed to step down after being offered a two-year paid sabbatical.
But when he returned, it quickly became clear that other scientists were wary of interacting with him, so he decided to leave the place he once considered his “intellectual home” and move to Australia.
Dr Edward Skidelsky, founder of the Committee for Academic Freedom, said Professor Rainsborough's experience was one of the worst cases of politicization of British universities his organization had encountered.
“It is extraordinary that someone should be forced to leave his position for holding views shared by a large section of the British electorate.”
A spokesman for King's College London said: “We believe strongly in the importance of freedom of speech in law and are proud of the key role our academic community plays in examining and debating issues of public interest, with a wide range of perspectives and issues presented in research and events held at the entire university.
