Oxford Union president survives no confidence vote

The motion against president Arwa Elrayess required 150 valid signatures.

The motion, filed on Thursday, June 4, received 10 physical signatures and 106 digital signatures.

Another motion, also filed on Thursday, urged the president to withdraw the invite of controversial figure Tommy Robinson to the union on June 17.

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In a written statement, seen by this newspaper, one union member said: “This campaign is about public safety.

“It is important to promote a secure environment of free speech.

“I agree with free speech, but I believe this is not conducive to public safety or free speech.”

In response, the president said: “We have survived as a free speech society and pride ourselves on controversy.

“The discussion o the debate is highly prevalent and it is a widespread topic of conversation.

“We have reached a dark side of society in the UK, and if we don’t challenge these ideas, there will be consequences.

“Muslims want to see him debated, and we should be able to tell him he is wrong.”

The Oxford Union president previously came under fire over leaked messages describing Hamas as ‘heroes’.

She made the remarks in a private WhatsApp group of around 100 students who were about to take up places at Oxford University to study Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE).

In the groupchat Miss Elrayess said: “Correct me if i’m wrong guys, but as far as i know, Hamas is literally the government of Palestine. The west just calls it a terrorist group because they don’t recognise it.”

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Tommy Robinson (Image: PA)

Miss Elrayess defended her statements, saying they were made in an informal discussion and had been taken out of context.

Miss Elrayess is also facing calls to resign and has reportedly been met with condemnation from her own committee over the invitations of Carl Benjamin, Tommy Robinson, Karim Khan, and Laurence Fox.

The Oxford Union has already been criticised for hosting a ball featuring the logo of the Palestinian Forum in Britain (PFB) on its promotional material.

PFB is a British organisation which “seeks to raise the profile of Palestine’s culture, its concerns and its community”.

However, the group has long been associated with Zaher Birawi, who has been described as a “Hamas operative” and a “serious national security risk” to the UK.

George Abaraonye with Charlie Kirk at Oxford University in May 2025 (Image: YouTube/Oxford Union)

Miss Elrayess also invited American anti-Israeli commentators Hasan Piker and Cenk Uygur as Union speakers.

Both were subsequently banned from entering the UK earlier this month.

Former President, George Abaraonye, lost a no-confidence vote in November 2025 for comments he made on social media after the shooting of Charlie Kirk.

After the shooting of the US conservative activist Mr Arabonye reportedly ‘welcomed’ the attack.