A Christian activist has been removed from a student bar at University College London after staff told him on camera he was being ejected because of his “transphobic and homophobic beliefs” — with police called solely due to disagreement with his views, prompting questions about discrimination law and free speech on university campuses.
Young Bob, chief executive of Project Albion and a self-described Christian pro-life and remigration activist who posts on X under the handle @YoungBobRB, had attended a vigil for murdered teenager Henry Nowak in London before entering the UCL bar. Video footage posted to X shows a manager telling him directly: “You are being kicked out because of your transphobic and homophobic beliefs, and the bar staff are uncomfortable.” No allegation of disruptive behaviour, threatening conduct or illegal activity was made at any point. Police were called to the premises, not over any incident, but over the presence of someone whose beliefs staff found objectionable.
Young Bob said he had entered the bar peacefully after paying his respects at the vigil. As he was being removed, he challenged staff directly. “You’re kicking me out because I’m being offensive,” he said. He subsequently posted an update describing the aftermath. “The police have now arrived, and I have been described as an Andrew Tate-like figure by the UCL staff member who removed me from the premises,” he wrote. “However, I intend to continue protesting. I don’t care.”
In a earlier post he noted with some wry amusement that both the Guardian and the Evening Standard had described him as a far-right agitator. “Clearly, that means you’re pushing the buttons of the establishment,” he wrote, before urging followers not to allow him to become the story. “These people are detracting from the message surrounding Henry Nowak. Don’t let them do that. Keep pushing the message. We want justice.”
Anti-racist organisation Stand Up to Racism faced heavy backlash earlier in the week after activists disrupted a vigil for Nowak outside Southampton police station, shouting throughout a planned three-minute silence marking the time he bled to death while handcuffed. That intervention, and now the UCL bar incident, have combined to make two-tier treatment by public institutions the dominant political conversation in Britain this week.
The legal dimension of the incident is significant. Gender-critical beliefs and Christian beliefs on biological sex are legally protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, as established through the Forstater rulings and subsequent case law. Denying service to an individual on the basis of such protected beliefs constitutes potential direct discrimination — regardless of whether staff find those beliefs distasteful. Young Bob has indicated he intends to document the incident fully and is considering formal complaints, including under equality legislation and to free speech organisations.
Free speech on university campuses has been a contentious issue since the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act received Royal Assent in 2023, which placed new duties on universities to protect lawful free expression. Whether UCL’s student bar falls within the scope of those obligations is likely to be among the questions raised in any formal complaint.
