Fourteen animal rights protesters were acquitted on Wednesday following a month-long trial, after the judge ruled that police had acted unlawfully to stop their demonstration.
The activists were cleared of disobeying police orders when demonstrating at the University’s Encaenia ceremony outside the Sheldonian Theatre in July 2006.
During the trial at Bicester Magistrates’ Court, a taped conversation between police officers was played that referred to members of animal rights group Speak as “c***s”. The conversation, recorded when a dictaphone was accidentally switched on without the officers’ knowledge, included comments that officers wanted to “prosecute the shit out of them”.
One officer boasted to colleagues that activists were powerless to fight against the University. “The problem is, the protesters do not realise how powerful the University is,” he said. “It’s a sleeping giant, it’s got masons, it’s got you…[it has] influence with MPs, masons, barristers.”
Other comments recorded on the tape led to accusations of collusion between the police force and the University. The officer states that the “feedback from the University [about the arrests] was… that they were really impressed with it.” Another police officer replies, “Well that’s the main thing isn’t it.”
The same officer later added that he felt “deep joy” when he heard that Speak leader Mel Broughton’s car had been given a parking ticket following his arrest. He also used the phrase “persecute him, wage a dirty war” in reference to Broughton, while also labelling him “a cock”.
Another officer is heard on the tape as saying, “We knew we were going to take bodies today. We knew that was going to happen.”
Two officers, including the Chief Inspector, discussed encouraging people with double pushchairs to walk around the protesters so they could be arrested for obstruction.
He added, “They [Oxford University] have also got more evidence for their review of their injunction. Every time they review it they can say, well actually you can’t be trusted to behave.”
Five arrests were made while the remaining protestors were led away from the Sheldonian Theatre. One officer described the police actions as “a bit of a sledgehammer to crack a nut”, while the Chief Inspector  used the term “draconian”.
Following the arrests, the police Superintendent was recorded as saying, “Now we prosecute the shit out of them.”
District Judge Deborah Wright cleared all fourteen defendants of offences under section 14 of the Public Order Act. She ruled that the offences had been imposed unlawfully, the recording having showed that police officers planned to make arrests from the outset.
In her ruling she stated, “Although the [recorded] conversations were made away from the public, all the officers were on duty.” The judge also criticised the police for placing the protesters under “a metaphoric microscope” that included four officers filming the protesters, one taking still photographs and several acting as spotters.
“Only lip-service was paid to one of the [police] objectives, namely to facilitate legal protest. There was nothing in the demeanour of the protesters to suggest that they would be disorderly. Whoever was responsible for making the decision that this prosecution should proceed in light of the tape may well have made a serious error of judgment,” she said.
Speak co-founder Mel Broughton called for an investigation into what he believed was evidence of “police corruption”. Referring to police comments about the University, he said, “These two extremely powerful institutions are prepared to get into bed with each other to frustrate lawful protest.”
He added that their relationship was “unnaturally close” and “aimed at stopping any opposition at all. One can only be very, very worried at that sort of development. I’m very angry at the way the police have behaved but it’s fitting a pattern of police behaviour.”
Robert Cogswell, also co-founder of Speak, added, “At Speak we will be insisting on high level talks with Thames Valley Police officers in order to make sure that this sort of political and clearly biased policing is a thing of the past.”
A spokesperson for the University said that while the University is in contact with the police force, the relationship is not inappropriate. “The University continues to cooperate with Thames Valley Police to ensure that its students and staff can carry out their everyday activities without fear of intimidation or harassment.
“While we are in regular dialogue with the police, operational matters are entirely within their jurisdiction, and are not a matter for the University,” he said.
Deputy Chief Constable Alex Marshall also claimed that the police force was not unduly influenced by the University, saying, “I am confident that the way our organisation works with the University is entirely impartial. Whilst a dialogue between both organisations is essential during such a long-term, high profile and resource intensive operation, retaining Thames Valley Police’s independence is crucial.
“I expect professionalism from my officers at all times and those involved have been advised accordingly. The language and nature of some of the comments are regrettable.”
During the conclusion of the court case two of the protesters, Pauline Broughton and Fran Cornwell, were convicted of obstructing and assaulting a police officer. However, the judge handed down an absolute discharge in both cases, awarding the defendants seventy-five per cent of costs.
Billy Kenber 

The boom of Asian universities could threaten Oxford’s world class status and financial security if its funding mechanisms are not radically overhauled, according to warnings from key higher education figures this week.
Jan Figel, European Commissioner for Education, claims that the ambitions of institutions in India and China could see them overtaking Europe’s top universities in world rankings within a matter a years.
Figel said that as Asian institutions improve, high-ranking European universities like Oxford will become less appealing to overseas students.
Britain allocates 1.1 per cent of its GDP to higher education, compared with China’s plans to increase funding allocation for education to four per cent in the future.
“If you look at the Shanghai index, we are the strongest continent in terms of numbers and potential, but we are also shifting into a secondary position in terms of quality and attractiveness,” Figel told The Times.
“If we don’t act we will see an uptake or overtake by Chinese or Indian universities. Indian technology is seen as the third best in the world. China itself decided it wants several top universities by 2015.
“Overseas students don’t come to the UK or Europe, our students are attracted elsewhere and then if you’ve got the students going elsewhere the businesses go elsewhere,” he said.
The Commissioner’s warnings came as Chris Patten, Oxford’s Chancellor, stated that the University’s development was already stifled by restrictions on raising money and that British universities were falling behind their international competitors.
“Universities here, and indeed in most of Europe, are left in a no man's land in which they neither get enough funding from the state nor are they allowed to raise money themselves beyond the ridiculously low limits of the tuition fee,” Patten wrote in a Guardian comment piece. “Universities today get 1.1 per cent of GDP in this country, compared with America's 2.6 per cent… and while we are resting on our laurels we must remember that China and India are coming up on the outside.
In 2003, eight Chinese and Indian universities featured in the top 500 Academic Ranking of World Universities and this had increased to 11 by 2006, with many institutions climbing the table every year. Increased prestige of universities closer to home could provide a greater incentive for overseas students to study there. Beijing University is ranked fourteenth in the world according to the QS Top Universities ranking, which cites the University’s average undergraduate course fee as $641 per year.
Dr Frank Pieke, Position Director of Oxford’s Institute for Chinese Studies, estimated that there are around 550 Chinese undergraduates studying at Oxford. Collectively, they may be contributing up to £10m in University and college funding each year.
“The Chinese government has now been investing for a while in higher education after years of neglect,” he said. “The impact of an increase in standards of Chinese universities may mean that Oxford finds it more difficult to recruit Chinese students.”
Shenxiao Tong, a former professor at Nanjing Shifan University in China, believes that increased investment in the country’s higher education system has caused undergraduate numbers to swell in recent years.
“Chinese universities are definitely improving,” he said. “A very high percentage of young people in cities now go to university.”
Although they have not yet overtaken Oxford and its leading European counterparts, Tong insists that China’s universities are developing the ambition and academic potential to rank among them.
“They don't have this ambition yet, but Beijing and Tsinghua are working very hard to be among the top universities in the world,” he said. “Beijing is ranked number one in Asia and fourteenth in the world. The competition for places is extremely high in China because of its One Child Policy. Parents want to give their children the best education possible, so they are pushed very hard. What Chinese science students learn in school is equivalent to our undergraduate level.”
Lan Wu, President of the Oxford Asia-Pacific Society, predicted that the number of Asian students choosing to study at Oxford would fall in the future.
“The rise of Chinese education will mean that Europe will become less attractive to Chinese students,” she said. “I think Asian students will be less attracted to Oxford as a result.”

A University spokesman stressed that Oxford must fight to maintain its status in the face of increasing competition from better funded international rivals.

“Oxford will have to continue to evolve to attract the best staff and students from around the world, and those who will benefit the most from our unique environment,” he said.
“In response to what is clearly a challenging funding environment, Oxford will continue to seek additional funding from a range of sources, including research grants, its own investments and philanthropy.”
James Teasdale 

The commander of the Oxford police service has argued that Magdalen Bridge should be opened for next year's May Day celebrations after heavy security failed to prevent students from jumping into the river this year.

Superintendent Jim Trotman, local area commander for Oxford City, has proposed to reopen Magdalen Bridge on May Day owing to complaints from local residents about the disruption caused by police measures.

Trotman explained that this year's precautions had been counter-productive. “As the police commander for the city, and actually having been there and visited the bridge on the day, I think that the big mesh fences and amount of yellow jacketed wardens at the event are an overreaction,” he said.

On May 1, Police closed Magdalen Bridge between 3am and 9am at a cost of £10,000. The decision came after 10 students were sent to hospital as a result of jumping off the bridge in 2005. This year three Oxford Brookes students managed to jump off the bridge after the security had been removed.

John Kelly, Oxfordshire's Emergency Planning Officer, expressed his satisfaction at this year's precautions given accidents in previous years. “We were happy with how it went this year as we were in 2006 after the events of 2005,” he said.

Kelly said that there had been meetings to discuss the operation last week. “The planning starts in October for May Day 2008, so nothing will be decided until then,” he said.

Keble’s JCR President, James Frew, voiced his support for the security precautions taken during this year's celebrations.

“I completely support the measures taken by the council to prevent people from jumping, even if this includes closing the bridge for the morning and patrolling it for the remainder of the day,” he said. Frew added that on May Day 2005 he had witnessed the accidents that had resulted in injuries to students.

“Two years ago I was on an island beneath Magdalen Bridge for May Day and was within metres of people jumping from the bridge. I think I watched at least 12 people being assisted out of the water, and their injuries were mild compared to some from previous years.”

Superintendent Trotman argued that such events should go ahead to allow police to pursue other more serious matters.“I only read last week that there was a Gloucestershire cheese rolling competition in which people are bound to get seriously injured, indeed sixteen people were hurt this year, but it continues unrestricted by local authorities,” he said.
Rachel Smith

95 per cent of Britons are going to hell, according to a speech given by Wycliffe Hall’s Principal.
A video of the Reverend Dr Turnbull’s speech given at the annual Reform Conference was released on the Internet last week, provoking accusations from prominent members of the Anglican community that he is encouraging intolerance within the Church and exploiting his position as Principal to promote his own theologically conservative views.

Speaking at the conference held by Reform, an evangelical organisation who oppose the ordination of women to the priesthood and who advocate a conservative view of homosexuality, Turnbull warned that the vast majority of Britain’s population would go to hell unless they were converted. “We are committed, are we not, to bringing the gospel message of Jesus Christ to those who do not know Jesus. And in this land that is 95 per cent of the people, and 95 per cent of the people in this country are facing hell unless the message of the gospel is brought to bear.”
Turnbull also openly criticised more liberal approaches to Christianity. “We are all aware of the challenge that liberalism brings to the Church at large. I want to warn against the nature of liberalism within our own midst. What I mean by that is this whole idea of what it means to be evangelical being broadened so that it encompasses everybody and everything”, he said.

In 2005 the council of Wycliffe banned meetings by the local student branch of Reform while the issue of whether or not it had a place within the evangelical firmament of the Church of England.

Turnbull has confirmed that he has never been a member of the organisation and added that he was not aware of any regulations imposed on the Hall’s student branch. “This has not been discussed during my time here”, he said. He declined to comment on the content of his speech or any of the allegations which have been made against him since then.

A Wycliffe Hall student who wished to remain anonymous voiced her concerns about the intolerant attitude towards Anglo-Catholicism and liberals at the Hall. “The Church is supposed to be a body, in other words different parts working together, and it worries me then that from Dr Turnbull’s speech there seems to be an aim to push forward evangelicalism at the expense of other parts of the Church.’.

In his speech, Turnbull also spoke of the “strategic nature” of his decision to take on the role of Principal of Wycliffe Hall. “I am sometimes asked why I took the post of Principal of Wycliffe where I have been for only just over a year. Well there are all sorts of answers one could give to that but one of the answers is that I view the post as strategic because it will allow influence to be brought to bear upon generations of the ministry”, he said.
Balliol College’s Christian Union Representative, Jonathan Bish, has accused Turnbull of exploiting his position of power. “The reasons he presents for taking over as Principal are nothing short of seeing the study of theology as an opportunity to indoctrinate students with a narrow and doctrinaire opinion that does not reflect the broad range of opinions within Christianity. This is completely the wrong approach, whether one is coming from a liberal or conservative, or high or low church perspective.”

Wycliffe’s SCR President, Adam Atkinson, has voiced his and the SCR’s full support for Turnbull. “Wycliffe Hall has a remarkable Principal in Richard Turnbull. Students here share Richard’s stated passion ‘to bring the gospel message of Jesus Christ to those who do not know Jesus’.”

Atkinson added that he did not feel that Turnbull’s speech was offensive. “To state the fact that 95 per cent of the people in the UK do not know the gospel of living life to the full for today and a sure and certain hope of life beyond death is surely to state the obvious. That this gives offence has been the case for the last two thousand years largely because we humans have to do something we hate: accept we are in the wrong.”
Iona Bergius

Newly published financial statements from Oxford Student Services Ltd (OSSL), the commercial arm of OUSU, show that gross profit fell by almost £40,000 between 2005 and 2006.

OUSU sabbatical officers have warned that guaranteed funding from the University is the only way to avoid the Student Union’s current financial crisis. Overall turnover is down by around £100,000 and operating profit has fallen by £7,000.

Ed Mayne, OUSU Vice-President (Finance) and OSSL Chairman, said that finances were volatile and prone to fluctuating. “Although the turnover for the 2004/5 financial year was high, the income proved to be unsustainable and many changes were made in the 2005/6 academic year. Due to the way OSSL currently operates, income and turnover will always fluctuate,” he said.

OSSL plans to introduce a second business manager next year in a bid to increase revenue. “I am confident that the income we will receive in this financial year will be higher than in the previous financial year. OUSU’s publication provision will not change from its current format,” he added.

In 2005, OUSU predicted that it would make a profit of £50,000 but in fact incurred a deficit of £42,702. As a result, OUSU was forced to radically reform its operations for creating revenue to remain financially viable.
An estimated deficit of £60,000 the following year was proved wrong when the Student Union lost only £32,904 in 2006.

The University has previously stressed that it will not provide further financial assistance until OUSU stops making losses, but the University’s Joint Committee has since reconsidered its position.

OUSU President Alan Strickland said that the lack of a substantial block grant comparable to those received by student unions at other universities means that OUSU will remain financially weak due to inadequate funding and few permanent staff.

“The volatility of OUSU’s commercial income makes it an unreliable source of funding for welfare, representation and other core services,” he said. “Thankfully, the University’s Joint Committee, which oversees OUSU, has accepted this. We are in advanced negotiations with them to gain stable core funding. OUSU has to guarantee provision of its core services without guaranteed funding. This is a serious problem which I hope we can remedy.”
He added that OUSU expected greater OSSL profits in 2007, saying, “The overhaul of OUSU’s financial management which we’ve led this year and the hard work of our Business Manager mean that profits are stronger than last year. I’m confident that our subsidiary will be able to donate a healthier profit to OUSU at the end of the year.”
Louisa Brownlee