A senior jazz lecturer at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance (TL) has reached a settlement with the institution after a dispute sparked by his criticisms of Critical Race Theory (CRT) as it appeared in the conservatoire’s internal “anti-racism” messaging and policy approach.
Martin Speake, 67, an internationally renowned saxophonist, said his life was “destroyed” after students boycotted his classes and professional opportunities dried up following the circulation of an internal email in which he disputed claims of “systemic” racial inequality in British jazz.
In a 1,170-word response to a request for feedback on TL’s “anti-racism” policies – an essentially contested concept heavily influenced by CRT – Speake argued that black musicians were “definitely not under-represented” in British jazz and said the Black Lives Matter movement was “very dangerous”. He also cited Martin Luther King Jr’s call to “judge people according to the content of their character, not the colour of their skin”.
Rumours about Speake’s email quickly spread among students. Faced with intense backlash, TL chose to distance itself from him, suspending his teaching. Rather than fostering constructive dialogue – or defending his right to hold “colour-blind” views – the conservatoire then pressed him to consent to the email being circulated across the jazz department, predictably fuelling further activist anger and public condemnation.
What followed was a full-blown campaign to cancel Speake, with critics denouncing what they called his “racist” and “disgusting” views, and accusing him of peddling “far-right conspiracy theories”. Students boycotted his classes. Concerts were cancelled. Collaborations were severed. Bands refused to play his compositions, and the release of his new album was shelved.
Forced to take extended sick leave amid the stress of ostracism, Speake returned to work in September 2024, only to find no respite. Harassment persisted, and his working environment, he says, became intolerable. In November 2024, shortly after students launched a boycott of his classes, he resigned from TL.
Supported throughout by campaign group Freedom in the Arts, Speake was due to take Trinity Laban to an employment tribunal later this year for constructive dismissal, discrimination and harassment. However, the two sides have now reached settlement. Although the details are confidential, the tenor and contents of the Conservatoire’s public statement strongly suggest that Trinity Laban chose to settle in light of the legal vulnerability of its position and the real prospect of an adverse finding at tribunal.
In a statement, the conservatoire said “similar beliefs” to Mr Speake’s “have been found to be protected in a previous employment tribunal case” – likely a reference to Corby v ACAS, in which the tribunal held (at a preliminary stage) that opposition to aspects of “anti-racism”/CRT was capable of amounting to a protected philosophical belief under section 10 of the Equality Act 2010. TL also accepted that the beliefs he expressed had “no racist intent” and that he considered himself, “and has done for all of his life, an anti-racist”.
“Trinity Laban does not dispute either of those matters,” the statement continued. “It also acknowledges that discrimination against staff and students because they hold or appropriately manifest protected philosophical beliefs is unlawful.”
Watch our interview with Martin here. CAF Research Manager Freddie Attenborough has also written about Martin’s ordeal for The Critic here.
This article forms part of the Committee for Academic Freedom’s monitoring of developments in UK higher education. To receive monthly updates and analysis on cases affecting academic freedom, click the link and subscribe to our newsletter.