Freshers spared the politics

So much for universities being hotbeds of political activism - Staffordshire University has banned external political groups from attending freshers' week events.

Shafqat Ali, president of Staffs students union, said: "The university and union recognise that the transition to university life can be quite challenging, and therefore the focus this week is on welcoming students into the university community."

Staffordshire Conservatives branded the action "an insult to democracy". This prompted Mr Ali to retort: "It is perhaps, more a reflection on the state of British politics than on democracy, that in the last two years, the union has not received a single request from a student to set up a Conservative society or group."