London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Oct 05, 2025

Office for Students chair speaks at same event as denounced racist

Office for Students chair speaks at same event as denounced racist

Tory leaders urged to investigate after James Wharton appears at Cpac Hungary on same day as Zsolt Bayer

Ministers are facing calls to investigate the chair of England’s university regulator about his participation in a conference for the Republican party, which platformed a notorious racist and antisemite.

Labour and the Liberal Democrats called on Conservative party leaders and ministers to take action after James Wharton, chair of the Office for Students (OfS), addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference (Cpac) Hungary in Budapest on Friday.

On the same day that Lord Wharton, who ran Boris Johnson’s leadership campaign, gave his video message, Zsolt Bayer, a television talkshow host in Hungary who has been widely denounced for his racism, took to the stage. Bayer has called Jews “stinking excrement”, referred to Roma as “animals”, and used racial epithets to describe Black people.

Senior academics of colour said Wharton’s participation in the event raised questions as to whether the OfS would effectively address racism in UK universities.

In his speech, which has been posted on Twitter, Wharton endorsed the recent victory of the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, adding that he was present in Budapest during the recent elections to see that “we can win”. He also said Cpac was a “great chance to pick up new ideas”, to “reconnect with friends across the world” and to “fight for the values that we all hold dear”.

Other speakers at the conference included Jack Posobiec, a far-right US blogger who has used antisemitic symbols, the former US president Donald Trump, and the former Ukip leader Nigel Farage. Orbán was the star speaker on the first day.

Anneliese Dodds, the shadow women and equalities secretary and chair of the Labour party, called on the Conservatives to clarify whether Wharton was given permission to attend Cpac, and whether the party shared the views he expressed.

In a letter to the Tory co-chair Oliver Dowden, she wrote: “Will you urgently explain whether the Conservatives think it is acceptable for the chair of the Office for Students to publicly endorse Mr Orbán at a time when Lord Wharton is responsible for defending academic freedom in this country? And will you condemn Lord Wharton for sharing a platform with racists, antisemites and rightwing extremists?”

Munira Wilson, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for education, said: “It’s incredibly disturbing that the head of the independent regulator for higher education moves in such circles. There’s no reasonable excuse for keeping such company.

“This is a really bad look for the OfS and completely undermines their stated zero-tolerance policy on racism and antisemitism. The education secretary must investigate Wharton’s attendance at this event without delay. Students from ethnic minority groups and Jewish communities deserve answers.”

The appointment last year of Wharton, a former Conservative MP with no experience in higher education, to chair the OfS attracted widespread criticism from politicians and students, who said he lacked independence.

Prof Kalwant Bhopal, director of the Centre for Research in Race and Education at the University of Birmingham, said: “It is hugely disappointing that the chair for the OfS has chosen to speak at this event. This suggests we cannot be confident that the OfS will address issues of racism and take them seriously. This is a step backwards and reinforces the rhetoric from rightwing politicians that racism is no longer an issue.”

Kehinde Andrews, a professor of Black studies at Birmingham City University, said: “It is a worrying time for students from diverse, underprivileged and minority backgrounds. It is pretty clear the chair of the OfS will not be fighting their corner.”

In 2018, Orbán shut down the independent Central Europe University as part of his campaign against George Soros. More recently he has embraced the “great replacement” conspiracy theory, which involves promoting the belief that the white population is being deliberately reduced by leftist policies and diluted by immigration.

The OfS said Wharton was not speaking in his capacity as chair as the OfS.

When questioned about Wharton’s endorsement of Orbán in parliament on Monday, the education secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, said: “I support the chair of the Office for Students for all his work that he’s doing in improving outcomes for students in our universities.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
×