Senate backs v-c's stance on Mapplethorpe

The senate of the University of Central England has backed vice-chancellor Peter Knight's defiance of a police request to destroy a book, seized from the university library that is said to contravene the Obscene Publications Act. Professor Knight faces an unprecedented court battle over academic freedom, after refusing last week to consent to the destruction of a book of images by late American photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. "The universal view of the senate on this matter was that principles are priceless and the principle of free inquiry must be defended," said a statement.

Peter Knight writes, page 20