A lawyer who featured in a Cherwell video stands to face disciplinary procedures, the Independent has reported.

The lawyer appears in the video saying: “I’m a City Lad and I fucking love the ladness… The ladness is basically just fucking people over for money.’ Later he remarks “I refuse my consent for this to go on the internet and I will sue you if you put it on”.

The video was released on the 10th of May and the lawyer’s remarks initially went unreported. But the video found its way onto legal blogs on Friday and Clifford Chance has now responded saying: “The comments made are inappropriate and they are at odds with our principles and the professional standards we espouse as a firm. One of our trainee lawyers is the subject of our formal disciplinary procedures which may result in termination of the training contract with the firm”

Clifford Chance is known as one of the City’s magic circle law firms and according to an article in The Lawyer published on the 4th of June on its website pays its trainees for the upcoming year £39,000 in the first year and £44,000 in the second year.

Toby Mather, the presenter and director of Shark Tales, commented “What the news of this disciplinary procedure illustrates is the evolution of modern working life in an age of social media: changing one’s name on Facebook to help get a job is all good and well, but if you then fling drunken opinions at a camera lens once in the job, it does to some extent undermine all the hard work.”

“Blaming the influence of alcohol to explain away such bigotry is pretty flimsy; I’m no Freudian, but that guy has a really big ‘id’.”

In other news Mather, photographer for a naked calendar of Oxford University’s blues sportsmen, is believed at the moment to be taking legal advice over breach of copyright by major news organisations.

The video is available on Cherwell’s YouTube channel. The appearence in question can be found at 4:15 and 6:43.

The annual QS World University Rankings released this week reveal that after two consecutive years in fifth place, Oxford’s new position at number six in the world equals its position of 2010.

Cambridge remains the highest ranked UK university in third position, with University College London (UCL) in fourth, Imperial in fifth, and Oxford in sixth place. Edinburgh is placed at 17^th, up from 21^st last year, whilst King’s College London has risen from 26^th to its current position at 19^th. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) retains its position at number one.

Graduates of Oxford and Cambridge are also held to be the most employable in the world, as a poll of 27,000 global graduate employers illustrates.

“Clearly the prestige of a UK degree is recognised by employers around the world, and the brand-name value of Oxbridge has so far survived any negative publicity following the tuition fee hikes and student protests,” observed the head of research at QS, Ben Sowter.

“As the UK and governments around the world move towards the ‘student pays’ model on higher education funding, employability is increasingly crucial to graduates.”

Oxford and Cambridge also feature strongly in the QS World University Rankings by subject.

Oxford is ranked the top university in the world to study English Language and Literature, Philosophy, Modern Languages and Geography, whilst Cambridge leads for History, Linguistics, and Maths.

Overall, Oxford and Cambridge are ranked in the top ten for 15 and 27 subjects respectively, whilst Imperial gains top rankings for ten, LSE for seven, and UCL for three subjects.

The number of UK universities in the top twenty for at least one subject is “far in excess of the total achieved by any other country apart from the United States”, according to John O’Leary of the QS Global Academic Advisory Board.

However, Mr O’Leary warned that, “The UK invests below the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average in higher education, so it is unrealistic to expect its universities to continue to punch above their weight indefinitely.”

Indeed, universities minister David Willetts stated that, “We are not complacent, and know we must work hard to remain the best.

“Our reforms to undergraduate finance have put universities on a sustainable financial footing and sharpened incentives to deliver a world-class student experience.”

The success of UK universities in the rankings is welcome news to current students. Keble law student Andrew Hall commented, “That six British universities are ranked amongst the best in the world, despite the age-old reputation of America’s Ivy League as superior, just goes to show that a system politicians are so keen to meddle with does not need fixing.”

The president of the Oxford Union, Parit Wacharasindhu, wrote an email to Robinson informing him of the decision. The email stated, “Unfortunately, as we are a student society running on a budget based on student membership, we will be unable to cover the significant security costs that would be required to host you as a speaker.”

Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, responded via Twitter, saying, “Oxford union bows to threat of violence #freespeech”. Although he provided no specific details, Robinson said that he would have provided his own security but that the Union had wanted a “ring of steel”.

Despite Robinson’s response, Wacharasindhu defended the Union’s decision. He told Cherwell, “As we stated publicly in July, the Oxford Union would only be able to issue a formal invitation to Mr Robinson to address us at our debate on patriotism if security concerns were resolved.

“The Oxford Union firmly defends the basic principles of free speech and debate, but if and only if we can guarantee the safety of our members, our guest speakers and the Oxford community.”

Robinson was first approached by the Union in June, when a Tweet was sent to him by a member of the Secretary’s Committee. The Tweet read that the Oxford Union “would love to host you [Robinson] as a speaker”, to which Robinson responded, “dm me your number.”

However, the invite proved controversial at the time. Tom Rutland, the president of Oxford University Student Union, said that, “invites should never be extended to those who threaten the safety of our students and community”. He added that he was “pleased” that Robinson’s invitation had been withdrawn.

Robinson, who has been branded a “fascist” in the past, set up the EDL in 2009. The organisation protests against “radical Islam”. Marches and protests by the EDL are often met with counter-protests and have resulted in dozens of arrests. Robinson himself has been arrested on several occasions, most recently on 7 September when an EDL demonstration in Tower Hamlets attracted hundreds of anti-fascist demonstrators.

Robinson was arrested and charged with ‘not adhering to the conditions of the march and inciting others to do the same’. He is due to appear in a magistrates’ court on 22 October.

An investigation by the Universities and Colleges Union has revealed that 83 teaching staff and 122 ‘academic related’ staff are on the controversial contracts in the university.

The report found that across the UK, 24,427 academic staff are employed on the contracts, in over half of higher education institutions. According to data from the Higher Education Standards Authority, this constitutes 12% of all academic staff.

The UCU investigation concluded, “For staff, zero-hour contracts present huge drawbacks in comparison to permanent regular work: there is no guaranteed level of regular earnings that provides any certainty over meeting bills or planning for the future… In short, zero-hour contracts are not compatible with developing a professional workforce delivering quality services.”

Simon Renton, President of UCU, commented further, “Our findings shine a light on the murky world of casualisation in further and higher education. Their widespread use is the unacceptable underbelly of our colleges and universities.”

He continued, “For far too many people, it is simply a case of exploitation.”

Zero-hour contracts hire staff with no guarantee of work or a wage, instead depending on workers being called to work on a short term basis. They have been criticised for giving no stability to employees, but advocates argue they are necessary to give employers flexibility.

An Oxford University spokesperson defended the use of the contracts, which are officially described as “variable hours contracts”. They told Cherwell, “Many of those listed on variable hours contracts also have permanent contracts, to which the variable hours contract is merely an addition, so the variable hours contracts is not their primary contract of employment with the University.

“Variable hours contracts are full University contracts of employment that may be permanent or fixed duration. Variable hours contracts are used when it is not possible to predict the number of hours of work available.”

The revelations about Oxford’s use of zero hour contracts come amidst growing debate about their use. The Office for National Statistics claims that 250,000 people are on the contracts, although many claim that this is an underestimate.

Labour MP Tom Watson recently called for a ban on the contracts, arguing, “If employers want to be that flexible with wages then they must realise workers can’t be. They can’t be flexible with shopping bills, rent and mortgage payments.” Andy Burnham, the shadow health secretary, has also said Ed Miliband should “go further” in his emphasis on a living wage, and promise to ban zero-hour contracts.

In August, the business secretary Vince Cable launched a review into the use of zero-hour contracts, suggesting that “at one end of the market” they can be “exploitative.”

Oxford students had a mixed response to the use of the contracts in the university. One St Hilda’s undergraduate said, “It is outrageous that a university with resources like ours can fail to give waged work to so many people.”

However, one second year PPEist commented, “Unemployment is a serious problem and zero hour contracts free up employers hands to quickly and efficiently hire those who perhaps would otherwise be out of a job.”

Lincoln College has completed the latest step in its project to expand city-centre student accommodation, acquiring the highly coveted property of 120-121 High Street.

The 19^th century grade II listed building, located on the corner of High Street and Alfred Street, is currently occupied by NatWest and Coutts bank. Both businesses are expected to remain open and operational, whilst a vacant 8,100sqft extension to the rear of the building is redeveloped as accommodation for Lincoln students.

Whilst the exact value of the property deal has not been officially disclosed, Lincoln College have reportedly spent almost £5.7 million on acquiring the building. Competition for the property is believed to have been fierce since the address was originally listed in 2012 with an advertised price of £4.5 million.

Lincoln confirmed their successful purchase of the property early last week, after two rounds of bidding behind closed doors. NatWest and Coutts bank, the current tenants, are expected to lease the street-side portion of the 21,000sqft property from the college.

Tim Knowles, Lincoln College bursar, said, “The current tenants will remain there for the foreseeable future. Our original expectation was that we would convert it into student accommodation, and that still remains the most likely outcome… It is probably reasonable to say that the college has been looking at that building for some considerable time and we were keen to acquire it. It completes the college’s ownership of that block on High Street.”

Other recent acquisitions by Lincoln include existing student accommodation on Walton Street. In light of this, Mr Knowles said that the college is drawing up plans to ensure it did not end up with an accommodation surplus, saying that “we are considering a number of other options. It makes commercial sense for us to buy the building.”

A decision on the fate of the property is expected to be made in the next few months, whilst any potential refurbishment is intended to be completed by the end of this year.

Rachel Jeal, Lincoln JCR President, spoke to Cherwell about the plans for redevelopment. She said, “It is a valuable asset for the college and may provide future opportunities for Lincoln as well as granting another level of flexibility regarding both accommodation and teaching space.

“Whilst at present everyone in the JCR who desires accommodation can be housed in college-owned accommodation, the NatWest building may be a valuable asset in order to house more post-graduates, allowing Lincoln to create a greater sense of a college community.”