CALLS have been made for Aberystwyth Students’ Union to reinstate banned newspapers after heavy criticism in a report that says the university is “hostile to free speech”.

A campaign called ‘Students Against Censorship’ has been launched after a scathing report which saw Aberystwyth Students’ Union, and the university as a whole ranked ‘red’, the worst category, in the second Free Speech University Rankings released last month.

The FSUR report said the university and its students’ union “has banned and actively censored ideas on campus”.

“The students’ union, which has maintained its red ranking, has banned the Daily Express, the Sun and the Daily Star; has placed restrictions on offensive ‘banter’; and operates an outright ban on racist, sexist and homophobic slurs,” the report said.

The issue of the banning of newspapers from the union shop was brought before a meeting on 1 February.

‘Students Against Censorship’ member Ieuan Joy proposed that the union should “revoke all actions made by the students’ union banning these newspapers.”

“Even though I do not read these papers or believe in their views, banning newspapers from the students’ union is in effect censorship,” he said.