Katie Hopkins claims Brunel student mass walk-out was 'staged' by professor

On Monday 50 students filled a lecture theatre - and then left as soon as she spoke

Katie Hopkins makes a living out of courting controversy (Ian Gavan| Getty Images)

Katie Hopkins has claimed a mass walk out of students that took place during a debate she was speaking at was staged by a professor at Brunel University.

Hopkins joined a panel at the university for the debate asking if the welfare state has a place in 2015 as part of the university’s 50th anniversary celebrations.

Students in the audience stood up and turned their back to her as she began to speak and then walked out of the auditorium. Joe Nicell, Brunel SU's communications manager, told The Independent about 50 members of the audience walked out.

Her piece highlighted a tweet by Peter Beresford, a Professor of Social Policy at Brunel, and criticised him for supporting the protest on Twitter. In a tweet later, the controversial columnist claimed the demonstration was “staged” by a professor.

In a piece responding to the walk out in The Daily Mail, Hopkins said she is used to students trying to discredit her with labels simply of exercising her right to free speech.

“When I supported Ched Evans's right to re-employment, they called me a rape apologist,” she wrote.

“Because I'm a Conservative-voting female, they decided I was a homophobe.

“When I criticised our immigration policy, they labelled me a racist.

“And because I am not a fan of huge divorce settlements for women, they labelled me a misogynist.”

Hopkins described millennials as a generation raised on social media who are “fast to join crusades [...] and demand the head of the guilty served to them on a pike”.

“Offence is no longer regarded as an emotional reaction," she said. "If someone is offended by something I say, they now have the right to bring a public charge against me because I have done something wrong and should be punished for it.”