The principal of a Durham University college who called students “pathetic” for protesting during an event with the columnist Rod Liddle has stepped back from some of his duties. Prof Tim Luckhurst, the principal of South College, will not attend external events on behalf of the university while an investigation is carried out into a dinner where Liddle gave a speech. Liddle, who writes for the Sunday Times, the Spectator and the Sun, was invited to speak at the college formal last Friday evening. After some students staged a walkout before the speech, Luckhurst shouted “at South College we value freedom of speech” and “pathetic”. Luckhurst, a former editor of the Scotsman, has since apologised and said his anger reflected his “commitment to freedom of speech”. Durham students’ union has described the principal’s position as “untenable” and accused him of insulting and humiliating students. According to the student newspaper Palatinate, Liddle’s speech began with him expressing disappointment there were no sex workers there that night, in reference to a recent controversy over safety training offered by the university to student sex workers. According to the report, he said the left railed against “science or pure facts”, by reference to people with a “long, dangling penis”, and claimed colonialism was not “remotely the major cause of Africa’s problems, just as it is very easy to prove that the educational underachievement of British people of Caribbean descent or African Americans is nothing to do with institutional or structural racism.” On Wednesday Durham students staged a demonstration over the events at the formal. A university spokesperson said that while the investigation was ongoing, Luckhurst would step back from some of duties. The investigation, led by Prof Jane MacNaughton, will look into the steps that led to Liddle’s invitation, as well as behaviour at the event. It is due to conclude by mid-January. In a statement, Prof Antony Long, the acting vice-chancellor, said last Friday’s events had caused “distress and anger across much of our community”. Long thanked those who had written in, adding that the letters and emails “invariably convey carefully argued and respectful viewpoints”. He said: “However, please let us be clear that no member of our university community should be subjected to transphobia, homophobia, racism, classism and sexism. We are committed to providing a safe place to live, work and study for all.” According to one of two articles Luckhurst wrote in the Guardian in 2010, defending Liddle against a “screechingly intolerant campaign of hostility” when he was in the running to edit the Independent, the two men have known each other since 1985 when they were both advisers to Labour shadow ministers. In 2019 Sajid Javid denounced an article by Liddle that appeared to call for elections to be held on days when Muslims are forbidden by their religion to vote, and that ridiculed an MP who had given a speech about domestic violence. Liddle was arrested on election night in 2005 for allegedly punching his pregnant girlfriend, and subsequently accepted a caution. Liddle has claimed he did not touch her but he accepted the caution so he could be released.