Faith leaders criticise Oxford Union Robinson invite

Christian and Islamic faith leaders have said they are "disturbed and saddened", after it was announced that Tommy Robinson had been invited to speak at the Oxford Union.

The far-right activist is set to take part in a debate on 28 May in support of the motion "This house believes the West is right to be suspicious of Islam".

In a joint letter this week, the Bishop of Oxford, the Right Reverend Steven Croft, and Imam Monawar Hussain called on the society to withdraw its invitation.

The Oxford Union has been contacted for a comment.

Croft and Hussain, who co-chair both the Oxfordshire and Thames Valley Faith and Civic Leaders Forums, said they had been "very disturbed and saddened" by the announcement.

"This invitation comes at a time of rising tensions between communities.

"As faith and civic leaders across Oxfordshire and the Thames Valley we stand together against hatred, racism and those who would divide our communities."

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is a prominent political campaigner and founded the far-right English Defence League, known for its protests against what it calls "radical Islam".

He also has a history of criminal convictions, including for assault, mortgage fraud and contempt of court.

His proposed visit to the Oxford Union will come just a fortnight after he led thousands in a Unite the Kingdom rally in London on 16 May.

The protest saw 20 people arrested, with those gathered telling the BBC they had a wide range of views - including some who felt white people, in particular white working class people, were being discriminated against in the UK.

Croft and Hussain said the invitation was "untimely and divisive", adding that Oxford was "a city in which there is no room for hatred".

They said the "temporary residents in our world-leading university and who lead the Oxford Union" had a "duty of care to the many thousands of Muslims, Jews and others of different faiths in the city".

"Those who have issued this invitation need to be mindful not only of the University of Oxford but of the city in which they live and study as students – a city which has a long tradition of hospitality to migrants and the poorest sections of society.

"We make a strong appeal in these weeks and months of global tension that this invitation should be reconsidered and withdrawn for the sake of this city and its peace."

The Oxford Union is student society dating back more than 200 years which has courted controversy for its speakers in the past - from Richard Nixon to OJ Simpson and Gerry Adams.

Inviting people to take part traditionally falls to the Union's president, who serves for just a single eight-week academic term.

Its current leader is Arwa Elrayess who has already encountered protests during her premiership after inviting Sudanese Prime Minister Kamil Idris to speak earlier this month, amid his country's ongoing bloody civil war.

The Union is run completely independently of the University of Oxford, which has also been contacted for a comment.