'Either you believe in free speech for views you dislike - or you don't believe in it at all' - Message to Queen's University Belfast from academics after Northern Irish institution pledges its enthusiasm for free expression and conscience

That is the message to Queen's University Belfast from major international academic Peter Boghossian, after it issued a statement stressing its enthusiasm for freedom of thought and expression in the face of pro-Palestinian protests.

The statement means the university is now caught in a "contradiction" he said, given that it recently adopted a policy compelling everyone on campus to accept transgender identities.

Other academics who are voicing similar sentiments are Edward Skidelsky and Liam Kennedy.

Dr Sidelsky is a lecturer in philosophy at the University of Exeter, and director of the Committee for Academic Freedom, while Prof Kennedy is a history professor at Queen's.

This most recent episode of the Queen's free speech saga began on May 9, when the university issued a statement after Palestine activists temporarily occupied its main building to protest against its ties to Israel.

In response, the university said: "Queen’s University Belfast is committed to freedom of expression, the right to hold a range of views, and the promotion and protection of the right to protest. This applies to our students, academics, and professional staff, and indeed the wider public."

In December The News Letter revealed details of its new QUB trans code, which states that if somebody uses a trans or "non-binary" person's “incorrect pronouns” on two or more occasions (even by accident) it will fall under "bullying and harassment".

This applies “regardless of whether or not that person has transitioned legally or surgically”.

The code also bars what it calls "derogatory jokes", also on pain of disciplinary action.

The code applies to all staff, students, student applicants, job applicants, plus "all visitors and anyone providing services to, or those contracted to work at, the University including sub-contractors".

(This followed a battle with the Queen's press office, which initially refused to hand over the relevant documentation.)

More on that here:

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• Queen’s University orders every single person on campus to comply with transgender names and pronouns or face punishment

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• Queen's University Belfast eventually coughs up cost of creating project 'that focuses on positive masculinities to educate boys about healthy consensual relationships' in Irish

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Peter Boghossian (293,000 Twitter followers) was a philosophy professor in Portland, USA, before quitting, accusing it of "intolerance of divergent beliefs and opinions".

He was one of the architects of the "grievance studies" scandal which saw him and others submit made-up research papers on feminism and gender to academic journals, many of which were published despite being surreally absurd.

Contrasting Queen's trans policy with its support for "the right to hold a range of views", Prof Boghossian said: "It is a contradiction.

"People in general, and it seems that academics in particular, only support free speech when they approve of the content of that speech."

On the worldwide Palestinian campus protests more widely, he added: "For many academics and diversity-equity-and-inclusion bureaucrats ‘Kill the Jews’ and ‘We need a Final Solution’ is protected speech, but asking people ‘Where are you from?’ or saying ‘I don’t see color’ are microaggressions."

Prof Sidelsky likewise said there is "inconsistency" in Queen's approach.

"Like many institutions, QUB is all for freedom of expression for views it agrees with, not for views it disagrees with," he said.

"But if you really believe in freedom of expression, you believe in it across the board."

And professor Liam Kennedy said that whilst the university's trans policy does not seem to be "a problem", it is "rather pointless, if not actually silly of Queen’s University to insist on making this a requirement backed up by disciplinary threats".

He added: "There is a danger of mission creep here, and disciplinary threats if exercised vigorously could end up producing a chill factor in relation to academic freedom."

Queen's was invited to comment but didn't.