Dr Nathan Cofnas v The Master, Fellows and Scholars of Emmanuel College in the University of Cambridge

Facts

Dr Nathan Cofnas was appointed in September 2022 to a three-year Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship in the philosophy faculty at Cambridge University, researching the biological basis of moral norms. Emmanuel College appointed him a College Research Associate with effect from 1 October 2023, a coterminous affiliation carrying only modest social benefits and requiring adherence to the College's 'Culture of Respect'. On 5 February 2024 he published on Substack an article, 'A Guide for the Hereditarian Revolution: How to Win the Elites and Create a Better World', referred to as the Blog, which argued that defeating 'wokeism' required elite acceptance of hereditarianism and contained passages stating that in a meritocracy black people would disappear from almost all high-profile positions outside sport and entertainment, and that barriers should be set up between races. The Blog attracted press coverage and provoked anger and distress within the College, particularly among black students. After the Master, Mr Chalmers, asked him unsuccessfully to amend the text, the College referred the matter to its Fellowship Committee, which recommended termination; the Council accepted that recommendation and an Appeal Panel upheld it. The Master terminated his CRA status on 2 July 2024. On 20 November 2024 Dr Cofnas issued a claim in the County Court under sections 10 and 13 of the Equality Act 2010 and section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998, seeking a declaration and damages limited to £25,000.