A demonstration has taken place outside the Cambridge Union in protest of Katie Hopkins’ appearance there, organised by the Cambridge branch of Stand Up To Racism.

Around thirty protesters gathered on Park Street, behind the Union building, where attendees were queuing before entering the chamber. Protesters waved placards, played music and chanted “say it loud, say it clear: refugees are welcome here”.

Stand Up To Racism said that Hopkins, one of a number of controversial speakers invited to the Union this term, “has made numerous inflammatory and deeply offensive remarks in relation to a range of minority groups including refugees, Gypsies and Travellers, the disabled and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds”.

They suggested that Hopkins’ “hateful, prejudiced views” had formed part of the “appalling racism” which influenced the outcome of the EU referendum last year. They were protesting, they continued, “to keep racism out” of the upcoming general election.

“She has an obvious issue with refugees and migrants”, Helen Moffatt, one of the student protestors, told Varsity. Moffat stressed the importance of “getting the word out that that’s not acceptable and that everyone is welcome here.”   

“I don’t think she’s someone who encourages free debate; I think she’s someone that closes down the conversation”, argued another protestor. “She has no credentials. The fact that she exists as a public figure is because people give her platforms.” 

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Union President Harry Stovin-Bradford yesterday addressed students in an article published in The Tab, challenging opponents of Hopkins to “grab your Union card, queue up, and challenge her from inside the society that has been proudly putting events like this on for over 200 years.”

Some of the protesters outside disagreed. “Protesting shows that people care; debates end up in bigger issues”, one student argued. In a protest, they continued, “everyone stands together against the same issue”.

In anticipation of the protest, the Union Society introduced supplementary safety precautions, including banning the use of phones in the chamber and encouraging students not to bring large bags with them. Attendees were also asked to enter the Union through a side entrance, rather than using the front door.

The Cambridge Union Society has been contacted for comment.