BBC's Jeremy Vine weighs in on row over Durham University's Palatinate

They have justified this, saying that "Durham SU has abandoned its central commitment to the newspaper."

However, the SU has rejected their bid for independence and attempted to trademark the Palatinate name, without telling the editorial board. 

This comes two years after criticism of the SU's decision to cut the newspaper's print funding made national headlines. Subsequent print editions have been funded by individual donations and the advertising fund. 

Responsible for journalistic heavyweights, such as Jeremy Vine, George Alagiah and Sir Harold Evans, Palatinate was named the UK and Ireland's Best Student Publication in 2021. 

Read more: Funding withdrawn for Durham University newspaper

Many Palatinate alumni have pledged their support to the bid, including Jeremy Vine, who, in yesterday’s Mail on Sunday, accused Durham SU of "quite a dastardly move" when describing the institution’s attempt to trademark rights to the newspaper’s name.

Vine told the newspaper: "It was one thing to cut their funding and leave them to sink or swim, but they now seem to be jumping on top of them to make sure they stay underwater.

"We know why the student union doesn't like them – it's because once in a while the newspaper prints an article that is critical."

On Jeremy Vine's comments, a spokesperson for Durham SU said: "Jeremy Vine is entitled to express his views – however, he was a student at Durham 36 years ago, and I don’t believe he has the information at hand to have formed an accurate picture of this issue. Certainly, he has never reached out to Durham SU to discuss this with us."

In addition to Jeremy Vine, 53 other current and former Editors-in-Chief have endorsed an editorial calling for the paper's independence. 

In their editorial, Palatinate said that "Durham SU has abandoned their central commitment to the newspaper," as, in the last two years, the SU has "axed the budget, thwarted the democratic will of our editorial board and sought to snatch the legal right to our name".

"For the paper, there now seems very little to gain and an increasing amount to lose."

They have also claimed that independence will allow them greater scope to level criticism at the SU, claiming that it is "certainly in need of accountability."

About Palatinate's comments, a spokesperson for Durham SU said: "This has nothing to do with censoring criticism.

"Durham SU doesn’t censor Palatinate, and clearly doesn’t stop them publishing articles that are critical of us: the fact Palatinate has devoted so much coverage to criticising us over this issue is excellent proof of that."

The Mail on Sunday revealed that they have offered the student newspaper a £20,000 donation to "secure Palatinate's future", though they have also guaranteed that "the funding will in no way impinge on its editorial independence."

Read more: Durham University students and staff protest for better housing

Responding to the donation, Palatinate Editors-in-Chief said: "We are grateful to have been offered this donation after launching our independence campaign.

"It is important to clarify that this donation has neither been accepted nor rejected at this stage, and it will be for the Editors and Editorial Board at the time of leaving Durham SU to decide whether or not to accept.

"We would not consider any donation which placed restrictions on our journalism.

"However, many will understandably have reservations about the source of the donation. In particular, we are disappointed at the insinuation in yesterday’s Mail on Sunday that Durham SU sabbatical officers were the driving force behind the trademark application.

"Attacking individuals has never been the focus of our independence effort, and we categorically do not see this as a product of the ‘far-left’."

However, they also acknowledged that the offer shows "the huge strength of feeling in favour of Palatinate’s independence."

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