The University of Sussex has begun a High Court judicial review of a record £585,000 fine imposed by England’s Office for Students for alleged failures to protect freedom of speech. Sussex argues the regulator acted beyond its powers, treated a short trans and non‑binary equality policy as a governing document, and that potential bias tainted the probe because of preexisting ties between an OfS official and a central figure in the campus dispute. The fine stems from a high‑profile row after the resignation of Professor Kathleen Stock; the outcome of the legal challenge could materially constrain the OfS’s ability to enforce academic‑freedom standards across English higher education. Lawyers for Sussex told the court the regulator’s investigation was procedurally unfair; the OfS said it would defend its careful, detailed inquiry.