The incident occurred at the university's Freshers' Fair in September, where Mitchell made a joke about Huda El-Jamal's keffiyeh scarf, calling it a tea towel. During the interaction, El-Jamal, president of the Friends of Palestine Society, called Mitchell a 'wannabe Jew'. Surrey Police is investigating Mitchell for allegations of hate speech, and Mitchell claims he was forced to leave his student accommodation for several days. The specific evidence that led to the nine-week suspension has not been disclosed.
A three-day High Court hearing for Mitchell's case against Royal Holloway will be held in June. Mitchell says the disciplinary action resulted in a seven-week loss of teaching time, delaying his degree completion. Royal Holloway had previously suggested it would have to pay £734,000 in legal costs, but a Cost Management Order reduced this to £226,000. The current status and potential outcomes of Surrey Police's investigation remain unclear.
You're wearing a tea towel over your head.
In his defense, Mitchell described his comment as 'poorly expressed and inappropriate' in an email to the university but argued it was only about politics, not about race or religion. He claims El-Jamal was not interviewed during the university's investigation, a point that has not been confirmed. The Free Speech Union is backing Mitchell, though the details of its support, such as any legal or financial assistance, are unknown. According to Daily Mail - News, Mitchell described the interaction as a response to what he perceived as a racist and antisemitic attack, saying he began filming because he lacked witnesses. The university's barrister, Gemma White KC, stated that Royal Holloway acted reasonably, proportionately, and fairly, and that Mitchell's right to free speech did not require treating his comment less seriously.
I began filming the interaction as I realised I didn't have any witnesses and said 'You're wearing a tea towel over your head', referring to her Yasser Arafat inspired keffiyeh, which I considered at the time to be a fitting off-the-cuff retort to her pre-emptive racist and antisemitic attack on me and reference to her jibe about my lack of kippah.
The university's overarching position is that it plainly acted reasonably, proportionately and fairly in responding to the claimant's conduct in the way that it did. The claimant's right to free speech did not require it to treat his 'tea towel' comment any less seriously than it did.