Scholars have warned that new free speech laws will be "toothless" if there is no compensation plan for university employees and canceled students.A number of academics from prestigious colleges wrote an open letter to Bridget Phillipson, stating that the Education Secretary's decision to halt free speech legislation only days before it was scheduled to take effect in August was "wholly inappropriate."They called on Ms. Phillipson to reintroduce the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act, which was introduced by the previous Conservative administration, "in full and without delay," in response to rumors that she is planning to do so in a weakened form.Ministers are understood to be discussing the removal of the crucial “statutory tort” element within the legislation, which would allow academics and students to bring civil claims for damages if their freedom of speech was proven to have been stifled.

“The statutory tort provision is the only mechanism in the Act that provides for judicial enforcement of its duties. A law without a judicial enforcement mechanism is toothless,” the academics said.The free speech legislation would also have rolled out a new complaints scheme run by the Office for Students (OfS), the universities regulator.Under the Act, the OfS would have been able to hand out fines and other sanctions to any university found to have breached free speech duties – although it is unclear if these would have been legally enforceable. Staff and students would only have been entitled to launch a court case if they had first exhausted the complaints scheme.The group of 45 academics warned that “any penalty that the OfS may impose upon a university under the complaints scheme remains a recommendation”.

“Without the legal backstop of the tort, universities can simply ignore recommendations,” they added.

The letter was organised by leaders of free speech groups among academics and students, including Abhishek Saha, a founding member of the London Universities’ Council for Academic Freedom, Edward Skidelsky, the director of the Committee for Academic Freedom, and Dennis Hayes, the director of Academics For Academic Freedom.

Professors at Russell Group universities including University College London (UCL) and Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) have also added their signatures, plus Andrew Neish KC, a barrister and director of the Best Free Speech Practice project.

The same group of academics gained more than 660 signatures in a separate letter they wrote in August calling on Ms Phillipson to reinstate the free speech legislation with immediate effect.

Signed by public figures including Richard Dawkins and a number of Nobel Prize winners, it warned that hundreds of academics had been “hounded, censured, silenced or even sacked” from British universities for exercising free speech rights.In the latest letter published on Wednesday, the academics said further speech violations have occurred in the four-month delay since Ms Phillipson paused the legislation.

They cited claims that Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, was forced to postpone a speech at Cambridge University in October, while a student union society was blocked from taking part in Durham University’s freshers fair that same month.

“The halting of the main provisions of the Act has emboldened those on campus who seek to shut down, rather than debate, views of which they do not approve,” the academics warned.

“With each new contravention of free speech rights, the public becomes more aware of free speech as a major contemporary problem and perceives the Government as hostile to free speech.”Sources told The Telegraph that ministers had previously hoped to make a decision on the legislation’s future by “the autumn”, although the timeline appears to have been delayed by internal wrangling.

Ms Phillipson now faces potential legal action over her decision to shelve the Act, after the Free Speech Union was granted permission to appeal the move. A judicial review hearing is set to take place in the High Court on Jan 23.

It follows a significant backlash from academics, with officials from the Department for Education (DfE) meeting with 40 professors and representatives of minority groups to discuss their concerns in recent months.Ms Phillipson announced at the end of July she would pause and “consider repealing” the Act following warnings it could have created a platform for hate speech on campus.

Critics have branded the suggestion a red herring, insisting that the Act would only have strengthened protections for free speech “within the law”.The Education Secretary also said the legislation would have created extra red tape and potentially costly legal cases for universities at a time when the sector faces significant financial pressure.

In their open letter to Ms Phillipson published on Wednesday, academics said: “The burdens imposed by the Act pale in comparison to many other existing burdens for universities and are a small price to pay for free speech and academic freedom.”

A DfE spokesperson said: “We are absolutely committed to freedom of speech and academic freedom, but the Free Speech Act introduced last year risks imposing serious burdens on our world-class universities.

“We paused implementation of this legislation so that we can consider next steps and ensure that we protect everyone’s best interests. Ministers and officials have met a range of stakeholders to discuss their views on the future of the act.

“We will confirm plans for the act and long-term plans for continuing to secure freedom of speech in higher education in due course.”