Manchester Uni chancellor slams Tories after avoiding row with Priti Patel and Suella Braverman

Manchester University Chancellor, Nazir Afzal, walked out of a reception at Buckingham Palace as he was afraid he would get into a row with Priti Patel and Suella Braverman.

Mr Afzal described the current and former home secretaries as being “typical of people, I’m afraid, who just love divisiveness”.

At a conference this morning, Mr Afzal said: “I knew if I stayed any longer I would get into a row with them in front of the Queen Consort and I thought that was probably the wrong place to have that conversation.”

The newly appointed Chancellor went on to say that they “wouldn’t know what the word integrity was if it hit them in the face. And they don’t know what principles are.”

Mr Afzal, who took over as Chancellor in August, has described himself as “an ambassador for the University and an ambassador for the students”.

This morning’s This is the North conference is a platform for delegates from across the region to discuss the biggest challenges facing the North. Mr Afzal described the conference as a chance for “amplifying” voices that are not usually heard.

When talking on the role of Westminister, he said: “They can’t keep giving us scraps off the table. We want the whole table.”

Andy Burnham, Manchester Mayor, echoed Mr Afzal’s complaints calling for a “complete rewiring” of the whole government system and an end to those in the North being treated as “second class citizens”.

Featured image via YouTube

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