0:00:00 > 0:00:03A new regulator, the Office for Students, is to be given powers
0:00:03 > 0:00:04to uphold free speech.
0:00:04 > 0:00:09Emily Unia reports.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12Jo Johnson wants universities to open minds, not close them.
0:00:12 > 0:00:16He has criticised the practice of "no platforming," when student
0:00:17 > 0:00:19unions and other university groups ban speakers with what are seen
0:00:20 > 0:00:24as offensive or unacceptable views.
0:00:24 > 0:00:27It's vital we uphold this principle of legal freedom of speech
0:00:27 > 0:00:30because it is the real underpinning of how we progress of society,
0:00:30 > 0:00:33how we deepen our stock of knowledge, how we remain
0:00:33 > 0:00:35innovative and ultimately how we also resist injustices,
0:00:35 > 0:00:41how the rights of minorities to stand up and be counted and not
0:00:41 > 0:00:42suppressed are upheld.
0:00:42 > 0:00:51The minister wants young people to hear and challenge controversial
0:00:51 > 0:00:53opinions, a view shared by the Vice Chancellor
0:00:53 > 0:00:54of the University of Buckingham.
0:00:54 > 0:01:05Universities must be about letting dialogue and debate
0:01:05 > 0:01:05happen, not suppress.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08If you suppress people's views, then you romanticise them,
0:01:08 > 0:01:10you legitimise them, you publicise them.
0:01:10 > 0:01:12What we need to happen at universities is the opposite.
0:01:12 > 0:01:23The feminist campaigner, Julie Bindel, who has personal
0:01:24 > 0:01:26experience of no platforming, argues the problem lies
0:01:26 > 0:01:27with the National Union of Students.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30Students that are polled are clearly signed up to this ridiculous
0:01:30 > 0:01:33snowflake attitude of having to be wrapped in cotton wool.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37Students tell me all the time that they want to hear the likes
0:01:37 > 0:01:39of me speaking against this blanket no platforming of feminists,
0:01:39 > 0:01:43as we are the ones mainly no platformed, and they want to make
0:01:43 > 0:01:45a decision about who speaks at their university.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48of me speaking against this blanket no platforming of feminists,
0:01:48 > 0:01:51as we are the ones mainly no platformed, and they want to make
0:01:51 > 0:01:53a decision about who speaks at their university.
0:01:53 > 0:01:57The NUS have yet to comment, but their platform contains six
0:01:57 > 0:01:57groups including the BNP.
0:01:58 > 0:02:00Next April, the Government is planning to bring
0:02:00 > 0:02:01in a new regulator for universities.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04The Office For Students will have the power to find,
0:02:04 > 0:02:07suspend or deregister institutions that failed to uphold free speech.
0:02:07 > 0:02:08Emily Unia, BBC News.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11Now on BBC News - one of the highlights of the year
0:02:11 > 0:02:13from our award-winning documentary series Our World.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16This film from Ecuador is an intimate portrayal of life
0:02:16 > 0:02:18for new parents and their baby son.
0:02:18 > 0:02:20But this is not your average couple.
0:02:20 > 0:02:30Both husband and wife are transgender.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40This next story is going to freak you out...
0:02:40 > 0:02:48A transgender man is pregnant by his transgender female partner.
0:02:48 > 0:02:49Did you get that?
0:02:49 > 0:02:52America's most high-profile transgender couple have had a baby.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14This next story is going to freak you out.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17A transgender man is pregnant by his transgender female partner.
0:09:17 > 0:09:19Did you get that?
0:09:19 > 0:09:23Neither Fernando nor partner, Diane, has gender reassignment surgery
0:09:23 > 0:09:26which meant that they could conceive a baby just like any other couple.