By Tim Stickings For Mailonline
Published: 18:02 GMT, 31 January 2019 | Updated: 10:11 GMT, 1 February 2019
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Dr Justin Murphy (pictured), who teaches politics at the University of Southampton, said free speech in academia no longer exists
A university lecturer who was suspended after likening abortion to necrophilia has said that academics are no longer able to 'speak freely.
Dr Justin Murphy, who teaches politics at the University of Southampton, was accused of 'hateful' Twitter comments last year and handed a 30-day suspension.
He now faces a gross misconduct hearing but warned in an interview that lecturers were expected to be 'hush-hush' about their views.
The row erupted after the lecturer tweeted: 'If you're pro-choice in the abortion debate, I find it very difficult to see how you could possibly have ethical objections to necrophilia.'
He also faced criticism over his use of the word 'retard', which some students regarded as 'ableist' and 'hateful'.
In later tweets he defended his use of the term, saying: 'There is a difference between ableism and calling retards retards.'
Speaking to The Tab, the American-born lecturer said: 'We're not going toward a place where academics are unable to speak freely, we are
