Gender-critical activist Connie Shaw has condemned British universities for what she called an "attack on freedom of speech" on campuses across the country.

Speaking on GB News, Shaw, who serves as External Affairs Officer at the Free Speech Union (FSU,) said "it is crazy" when discussing that 18 per cent of the FSU's cases come from universities.

Her comments come as a new report reveals UK universities have failed to protect gender-critical academics from bullying and career-threatening restrictions on their research.

The report, authored by Professor Alice Sullivan of University College London, found that researchers have been "subjected to sustained campaigns of intimidation simply for acknowledging the biological and social importance of sex."

Gender-critical activist Connie Shaw said there is an attack on free speech

GB News host Ellie Costello said: "Do you think there is an attack on freedom of speech on campuses in this country?"

Shaw responded: "Well, clearly. I mean, the fact that 18 per cent of our cases at the FSU come from universities that’s crazy.

"Universities are meant to be the place where free speech, if it exists anywhere, absolutely must exist.

"But at the moment, you actually have less freedom of speech at times when you step onto a campus than when you’re not on one.

"That’s why the guidance from the Office for Students is extremely important. Luckily, they’ve taken the FSU’s recommendation that when they talk about protecting free speech, they mean that no legal speech can be restricted which is a great clarification.

"When Sussex University was fined £500,000 over that, the Vice Chancellor Sasha Roseneil said they’d be challenging it.

"She also said, ‘Oh, but we won’t be able to restrict anything but illegal speech.’ But why would a university want to restrict any legal speech?"

Sullivan's review, which analysed 140 submissions primarily from academics with gender-critical views, raises "stark concerns about barriers to academic freedom in UK universities."

The report recommends that students and staff "taking part in freedom-restricting harassment should face consequences commensurate with the seriousness of the offence."

It found that many academics faced abuse and intimidation, with research involving sex and gender being opposed or downgraded by other staff or administrators.

Former professor Kathleen Stock was “hounded out” of her job after harassment from activists for her gender-critical viewsPA

The review also documented instances where Sullivan herself was targeted, including a planned talk that resulted in a one-day conference being cancelled in 2020.

High-profile cases have highlighted the severity of the issue.

Professor Kathleen Stock resigned from the University of Sussex following what she described as "a sustained campaign of intimidation" that began in 2018.

Stock submitted detailed evidence revealing a catalogue of abuse on campus and social media, escalating to protests in autumn 2021 that ultimately led to her resignation.

The University of Sussex was subsequently fined a record £585,000 by the Office for Students in March for failing to uphold free speech in Stock's case.