The Student Council has passed Motion 7.2, banning the sale of The Daily Mail, The Daily Express and The Sun on campus. We consider this to be a restriction of free speech and a body blow against the ideal of open debate that is so important to thriving universities.

We do not endorse the political views so often expressed in these newspapers. We condemn their divisive and hateful rhetoric, and we promote instead a vision of a Britain that is open and tolerant. However, we do not believe that such rhetoric is best addressed by ignoring it, which is what this ban is tantamount to. We believe that hate is best challenged and exposed through open debate.

This motion has been passed with very little public consultation and it affects every student at the university by making it look like we will not allow our views to be challenged. This is entirely against the spirit of university where we are invited to shape and refine our opinions through direct engagement with those who disagree with us. Abandoning such a principle lends the Union and the wider university, whose reputation reflects on all of us, to ridicule.

This is not who Queen Mary students are.

This is not who Young People are.