The Free Speech Union (FSU) is reeling from internal grievances involving allegations of racism, workplace discrimination and sexually inappropriate remarks by senior members of staff, the Guardian can reveal. A key figure in the campaign group, the chief operating officer, Sigrun Olafsdottir, departed late last week after employees alleged that she told a junior member of staff she would “never hire a black person” as a part of a one-on-one meeting late last year. The organisation’s legislative affairs director, Sam Armstrong – who is also head of communications for the Reform MP Robert Jenrick – has meanwhile been accused of making staff members uncomfortable by discussing the American actor Sydney Sweeney’s “assets” in a meeting with more than a dozen staff.
The claims cap a difficult period for the FSU, which was founded by the Conservative life peer Toby Young, and which critics see as a partisan rallying point for anti-woke grievance. And they may complicate how the organisation seeks to publicly present itself, as a nonpartisan group that seeks to defend “free speech” from the overreach of censorious authorities – one which often raises money from its 50,000 members to do so. In July, the Guardian reported that the US state department had allocated $5m to the international umbrella organisation that oversees the FSU, part of a larger effort by the Trump administration to promote rightwing causes in Europe.
The state department appeared to withdraw this grant after the Guardian reported on the allocation. In August, the Guardian reported on questions about the organisation’s practices around charity crowdfunding, centred on an instance in which the FSU appeared to raise £60,000 for a legal case that was ultimately fought pro-bono. Much of the FSU’s work consists of raising money for people who it argues have faced inappropriate consequences for exercising their right to free speech.
Lord Young told the Guardian that that case was “not handled on an exclusively pro bono basis”, saying there was another lawyer involved and the person whose case it was had separate legal costs. These revelations have come alongside a period of internal turmoil. Eight members of the FSU’s small staff have departed within the past year.
The Guardian understands that a crucial part of this disquiet has been the allegation of racism against Olafsdottir. The Guardian has spoken to multiple sources about these allegations and viewed documentation related to parts of the claims. Employees complained that Olafsdottir was frequently “hostile” towards younger members of staff.
This alleged hostility was said to occur during the FSU’s in-person gatherings. The staff of the FSU work remotely but meet regularly for in-person events. These often take place at pubs and hotels, with some personnel said to drink heavily late into the night.
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