Oxford News
Oxford Union: Four of the most controversial presidents
Catherine Xu
Catherine Xu (Exeter College), the president-elect for the Michaelmas term this year faced significant claims that she committed election fraud to gain the position.
In an email to members by the Acting Returning Officer they were informed Miss Xu had been found guilty of making ‘use of the society’s records of membership with the intention of influencing the election’.
Despite denying the claims she was disqualified from nominating in any current or future election in the society, and suspended as a member until the end of the next university term following a tribunal in April.
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Luke Tryl
Luke Tryl, president during Michaelmas term in 2007 faced significant controversy after inviting holocaust denier, David Irving, to speak at the Oxford Union.
Critics said the union crossed the line between defending speech and platforming extremism. Supporters argued it was a classic free-speech test.
Irving has written some 30 controversial books, several of which defend Adolf Hitler and deny the systematic extermination of six million Jews by the Nazis in World War II.
He was convicted by an Austrian court in February 2006 on charges of Holocaust denial and sentence
George Abaraonye
George Abaraonye, who became president-elect of the historic debating society in 2025, faced controversy after Charlie Kirk was shot dead at a Utah Valley University event in September, in what US authorities called a political assassination.
The Times reported that in one message to fellow students in a WhatsApp chat, Mr Abaraonye wrote “Charlie Kirk got shot, let’s f****** go”, while another on his Instagram account read: “Charlie Kirk got shot loool.”
A vote of no confidence against him passed.
The motion secured the required two-thirds majority, despite his claims that the poll itself was compromised.
Brendan McGrath
Brendan Mcgrath, who was president in the Michaelmas term of 2019, faced controversy after a blind postgraduate student was aggressively dragged out of a debate.
Ebenezer Azamati, a postgraduate student from Ghana, was forcefully removed by a security guard at a debate.
Mr Azmati had arrived early to the debate to reserve his seat before going back to university, a practice that wasn’t unusual.
But when he returned he was dragged out by two security guards and was the charged with violent misconduct and expelled from the union.
Following a severe backlash, at least eight other society members resigned, including the union’s chief of staff and the director of operations.
Mr McGrath was then set for a vote of impeachment, but instead decided to step down from his position.
This gallery shows animals of all shapes and sizes – from cats and dogs, to hedgehogs and birds – being saved and taken in to loving homes.
One image shows an uncommon rescue of a whole crocodile, which was flown to the renowned croc centre Crocodiles of the World in Witney from Malmo, in Sweden, where it had been living unhappily in a greenhouse.
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Others show fantastic action shots of a swarm of bees being rescued by a keeper, and a youngster holding a rescued owl.
Other images show the rescue dogs which, once taken in, became part of the family, and even some that went on to win dog show awards or take part in charity events.
Take a look back through this Oxford Mail archive to see 11 adorable animal rescue shots from Oxfordshire over the years.
The Prime Minister is prepared to “explore every option” to keep Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers in jail, a Government source told the Telegraph on Friday.
The Government has so far resisted pressure to exempt the two killers from its early release scheme, which starts in October in a bid to tackle prison overcrowding.
Mr Burnham said earlier this week he had “pushed to the very limits of what is possible to do without risking the prison system reaching capacity and collapsing” by excluding sentences for “rape, serious child sex offences and other grooming offences” from eligibility.
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Some 5,000 people are expected to be released early under sentencing changes, down from 6,000 after the exemptions announced as part of an urgent review of the scheme.
But under current plans, Cole and Bowers remain eligible to be freed halfway through their 13-year sentences after they were convicted of manslaughter in 2020 following Pc Harper’s death in 2019.
Downing Street has been contacted for comment about Mr Burnham reportedly weighing up options to block their release.
PC Harper was 28 when he sustained fatal injuries while responding to a quad bike theft in Sulhamstead, Berkshire, in August 2019.
He died after getting caught in a strap attached to the back of a car and dragged down a country road as three teenage suspects fled the scene of the burglary.
The driver of the vehicle, Henry Long, received a 16-year sentence and would not be eligible for release.
Dame Mary Berry has lived in Henley‑on‑Thames, Oxfordshire, with her husband Paul Hunnings since 2019.
She joined the BBC show as a judge alongside Paul Hollywood when it launched back in 2010 and stayed until 2016, before the programme moved to Channel 4.
Now, the 91‑year‑old food writer and presenter has been discussing work on the garden at her Henley home during an appearance on the Grow, Cook, Eat, Arrange podcast.
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Dame Mary explained that she and Mr Hunnings had decided to buy larger yew trees rather than wait years for smaller plants to grow.
The former Great British Bake Off judge said: “Evergreens, a yew is, we put hedges in a yew. And obviously you should buy evergreens like a yew. I suppose about two foot high and wait.”
Dame Mary then made clear why waiting was not a realistic option for her.
“Well, I’ll be in heaven then, so we had to buy them fairly big, I suppose they were about four foot because we needed them to get to the top of the tennis court netting,” she said.
The TV star and her husband moved to Henley to be closer to family after downsizing from their former home in Buckinghamshire.
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In a previous interview, Dame Mary said of her decision to move: “We didn’t want to move too far from our friends, and Henley is only a 35-minute drive.”
She added: “The town is beautiful. It has the river, and there are lots of interesting walks to do. As the years go, we will be able to walk into the town, and it will be nice to not have to get the car out.”
Dame Mary remains a familiar face on television and has continued to share her love of gardening as well as cooking.
Speaking at the Hay Festival earlier this year, she encouraged young people to “work hard and follow your dreams”.
Her garden in Henley includes a greenhouse, pond, beds and roses, while she has said she grows produce including red onions, lettuce and carrots.
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