...Last month the Union of Jewish Students asked if I [Douglas Murray] would speak last night in Gateshead on a panel at the National Union of Students (NUS) conference. As readers can imagine, other than pulling out your teeth in Weymouth this is just about the last thing anybody would want to do. But these are bad times on campuses. As we were reminded on Christmas Day, British universities have become one of the central international hubs for spreading the grievance ideology of radical Islam. Every week radical preachers are invited onto campuses by Islamic societies (under the umbrella of the Federation of Student Islamic Societies). Among the speakers they invite are people who indulge in the most flagrant anti-Semitism and anti-Semitic conspiracy theory...

...Well anyway, I was perfectly happy to travel up to sunny Gateshead to do a panel alongside Wes Streeting, the head of the NUS and anyone else the UJS wanted along with me to have this matter out. Until I got a call last week...

The girl from the UJS on the other end of the phone explained that there had been a change of plan. The UJS had decided that it would be nice if the panel was done in association with FOSIS. Er, OK, I said. Though FOSIS are the problem, as you know... Whilst claiming to speak for Muslim students as a whole they have in fact repeatedly been shown to at best represent a highly conservative and marginal portion of their faith.

"Yes, we know all this" she said, but anyway, they wanted to go ahead. And there was still better news. FOSIS had agreed to do the event with them. But on one condition.

"Oh yes," I said. Why could I guess what was coming.

"They'll only do it as long as you don't speak."

Naturally. Welcome to the world of FOSIS "debate"...