There is no evidence to support an Oxford college's decision to cancel a Christian conference and apologise for hosting it, an independent investigation has concluded.
Worcester College cancelled the booking of Wilberforce Academy, the weeklong residential training programme of Christian Concern, in September last year after complaints from students about some of the speakers' views.
David Isaac, former chair of Stonewall and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), later apologised for the "distress" caused by the college's decision to host the event, and promised an internal review.
A preliminary booking for the 2022 Wilberforce Academy, due to be held this September, was also cancelled.
When Christian Concern asked why its bookings were cancelled, the campaign group says it was told by the college that it had received "a number of complaints" alleging that attendees had been "unduly demanding" and "difficult to deal with", and that Covid protocols had been broken.
The college also claimed that leaflets had been "aggressively distributed" and "without consent", Christian Concern said.
Charity lawyer Michael Stewart was subsequently commissioned by Christian Concern to conduct an independent investigation into Worcester College's decision to cancel the academy's booking.
After receiving witness statements from 114 out of 124 academy delegates, he concluded that the allegations were "without substance".
Commenting on his findings, Christian Concern chief executive Andrea Williams said it was "disappointing that such a prestigious university and college should be cancelling Christian beliefs, debate and free speech".
"Worcester College capitulated to complaints from a handful of students who appear to have felt 'offended' following debate on some of the most important social issues of our time," she said.
"It is disappointing that such a prestigious university and college should be cancelling Christian beliefs, debate and free speech.
"We will continue to speak of Jesus Christ who was himself an 'outsider' and by his words and actions demonstrated his commitment to reaching the marginalised, excluded and vulnerable so that they could discover true hope and everlasting love through him, even sacrificing his own life to do so.
"Oxford University should continue to stand for free speech and free expression and allow its students to have the intellectual ability to decide whether they wish to attend external events, and to make up their own minds on what they hear."
Responding to the report, the Free Speech Union (FSU) has called on Worcester College to apologise and reinstate Wilberforce Academy's booking for 2022.
FSU general secretary Toby Young said in a letter to Isaac: "The interaction between attendees and College members was not, as the college claimed, a 'distressing' episode meriting unreserved apologies. It was, in fact, a laudable example of free speech in action. Students and attendees, showing mutual respect and curiosity about each other's beliefs, engaged in civil discussion on a controversial topic."
He added: "The College's uncritical acceptance of claims that the conference harmed students was a serious error. In keeping with, as you put it yourself, your own and the college's commitment to freedom of speech, the college should have investigated and faced down students' ill-founded complaints. No higher education institution should apologise for free speech."
Responding to the review, a Worcester College spokesman said: "It is disappointing that ahead of a meeting between the College and Christian Concern, the contents of the report commissioned by Christian Concern have been made public without an opportunity for us to discuss it with them.
"The college looks forward to a constructive meeting but wishes to make it clear that it does not accept many of the findings of this report."
