The Cambridge University Students Union (CUSU) Board of Trustees has come under fire for its role in the controversy surrounding the delayed publication of The Cambridge Student (TCS) this week.

James Burton, Editor of TCS, decided to take the unprecedented decision to delay publication hours before the paper was scheduled to come out, after he was asked by the Trustees to remove two articles for “legal reasons”.

TCS is owned and funded by CUSU. However, the paper is editorially independent.

Speaking to Varsity, Burton said, “early on Thursday morning, CUSU’s Board of Trustees told me that two articles the editorial team was planning to include in the paper could not be printed for legal reasons, and that, as our publishers, they would therefore not allow them to be included in the paper.”

He continued, “However, their conclusion that it would be illegal to print these two articles was based on the opinions of people who were not qualified legal professionals. I felt I could not agree to scrap the articles unless the demand for me to do so was based on sound legal advice from a qualified professional.”

“As a result, after consultation with other members of TCS' editorial team, I chose to delay printing until professional advice could be provided.”

The two articles with which the Trustees took issue both dealt with the manifesto of CUSU 2010 elections candidate Chris Lillycrop. Lillycrop, who is standing for the position of CUSU Co-ordinator, has stirred controversy for proposing to eliminate the position of Union Development Manager, currently a full-time salaried position within CUSU.

Lillycrop’s proposal to eliminate the position initially appeared in his manifesto, but was redacted by the CUSU Elections Committee. Lillycrop has denounced the action as “censorship”.

According to some sources, CUSU is legally-bound to prevent the proposal from circulating, as it would violate existing Staff-Student regulations. However, a different story emerged on Friday when, following consultation with a solicitor, TCS was told that they could in fact run the story.

Burton feels vindicated by the outcome. He said, “When the Trustees consulted a solicitor, it emerged that both articles could be printed, and I therefore feel my decision to delay printing was the correct one.”

TCS will now appear on Saturday morning, 48 hours after its usual distribution date.

Although the incident appears to have been resolved, questions continue to surface about the role played by the Board of Trustees. According to some reports, the Trustees did not consult the Board of Directors of TCS, the body responsible for dealing with complaints about the paper.

It is also unclear which of the Trustees asked for the articles to be removed, or whether they were acting in unison. Varsity understands that not all Trustees were present at the meeting with TCS. Each sabbatical officer holding elective office has a place on the Board of Trustees.

As of Friday afternoon, the Board of Trustees could not be reached for comment.

For his part, Burton continues to stand by his decision to delay printing the paper. He said, “Although the paper is coming out late, TCS has maintained its editorial independence and we have upheld the journalistic integrity we pride ourselves on.”