Dr Michael Foran, an associate professor of law at Keble College, Oxford, has cancelled the remaining lectures in a four-part series after what he described as “intimidation” by trans activists. The 32-year-old gender law specialist confirmed on Sunday that he would not proceed with his talks, citing “escalating disruptive protests” and saying he could no longer guarantee the safety of attendees from further disruption.
The decision to end the series came after demonstrators interrupted two events held in late May and early June at the HB Allen Lecture Theatre. Dr Foran had been examining themes from his forthcoming book, Sex, Gender Identity and the Law, which is scheduled for publication by Cambridge University Press in March 2026. The book charts the historical evolution of UK law on sex and gender and its implications for contemporary controversies such as single-sex spaces, freedom of belief, freedom of expression, privacy, sport and sexual intimacy.
Disruptions detail the nature of the intimidation
Footage shared online shows protesters standing in front of the lectern and urging audience members to leave rather than listen to the lectures. During the first event on 29 May, two individuals believed to be students approached the front of the hall moments before Dr Foran was due to begin speaking. One protester, reading from a mobile phone, claimed the academic “masks his transphobia behind a thin veneer of academia” before telling attendees: “Please join me in walking out and refusing to platform this bigot.”
Audience members responded by calling for the protesters to leave, while Dr Foran said: “I’d really appreciate if you don’t disrupt this event.” The same pair returned during the second lecture on 5 June, although this time attendees largely drowned out their remarks with chants and shouting. Two further protesters then emerged from within the audience before being escorted from the venue.
A PhD student who attended the event described the atmosphere as “very intimidating” and told The Telegraph that the personal attacks were “pretty unacceptable at this sort of academic event”.
The protesters’ specific claims
Protesters’ allegations against Dr Foran centre on his academic work being cited in last year’s Supreme Court ruling on the legal definition of a woman, as well as his association with groups including the Women’s Rights Network. One protester also complained about Britain’s perceived decline in international LGBT rights. The Supreme Court’s landmark judgment in For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers, delivered on 16 April 2025, established that “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 refers to biological sex, meaning that “woman” in the context of the Act refers to biological females. Dr Foran’s work had previously informed the UK government’s veto of the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill.
Dr Foran runs a blog called “Knowing Ius” focusing on the law relating to sex and gender identity, and his first book, Equality Before the Law: Equal Dignity, Wrongful Discrimination and the Rule of Law, was published in 2023. He holds an LLB from Trinity College Dublin, an MSc from the London School of Economics, and a PhD from Cambridge where his doctoral thesis won the Yorke Prize. In response to the disruptions, he wrote on social media: “This is deeply lamentable, but the disruption has undermined the academic nature of this series. Students shouldn’t face bullying or harassment when attending academic events.” He added that the protesters had chosen confrontation over “genuine intellectual engagement grounded in academic charity and rigour”, describing their actions as “the antithesis of what a university stands for”.
Expert reactions and wider Oxford context
Kate Barker, chief executive of LGB Alliance, said Oxford students had been “deprived of Michael’s expertise, especially at a time when clarity and expertise on the law is so sorely needed”. She urged the protesters to “apply a little critical thinking, and engage with people and arguments, even when they feel uncomfortable”. LGB Alliance campaigns for the rights of lesbian, gay and bisexual people and has expressed concerns about “gender identity theory” overriding biological sex.
Maya Forstater, chief executive of Sex Matters, described the situation as “appalling” and questioned what steps the university was taking to ensure the lectures could continue. Sex Matters advocates for the importance of biological sex in law and public policy.
The incident is the latest in a series of disputes over transgender issues at Oxford. In May 2023, protesters attempted to disrupt a talk by gender-critical academic Kathleen Stock at the Oxford Union, with police removing demonstrators from the chamber and one protester gluing themselves to the floor. In February 2025, another gender-critical author, Helen Joyce, faced a walkout by protesters during a discussion at Balliol College. Last weekend, hundreds of people marched through Oxford in opposition to new Guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission on single-sex spaces, which was issued in light of the Supreme Court ruling. That protest was organised by “Oxford 4 Trans Rights”. The guidance clarifies that admitting trans individuals to services aligned with their lived gender may mean the service can no longer be described as single-sex and could risk legal challenge.
Academics for Academic Freedom have expressed solidarity with Dr Foran, condemning harassment and online abuse aimed at him because of his research on sex and gender identity law, arguing that academics should be free to conduct research and engage in knowledge exchange without bullying or threats to employment, even when their work is controversial.
