Cambridge Union is to welcome the French far-right Front National party leader Marine Le Pen as a speaker today, just weeks after the Charity Commission published its anti-extremist guidance for charities, targeting universities in particular.

Front National is considered an equivalent to the British National Party and is known for its radical anti-Islamic views. Its leader's appearance at Cambridge Union comes one week ahead of an English Defence League (EDL) rally scheduled to take place in Cambridge and four weeks after the Charity Commission launched its Protecting charities from abuse for extremist purposes compliance toolkit guidance.

Le Pen, whose party came third in the latest French national election winning 6.4 million votes, is to speak on French politics and the future of the European Union, alongside Guardian editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger. However the event will not take the form of a debate.

Her appearance was announced at late notice on 11 February and has sparked student protests due to take place today. These follow a protest by Cambridge University Student Union (CUSU) president Rosalyn Old who last week cancelled an appearance at a debate hosted by the Cambridge Union Society, the debating society which is responsible for Le Pen’s visit.

Old said of Le Pen's visit: "Given the imminent demonstration planned by EDL in Cambridge on 23 February, the invitation by the Union Society to Marine Le Pen is more than just insensitive, it will have a direct effect on the safety of many of our students.

"It disregards the realities of fascism and the current context of Cambridge, failing to recognise that her speaking on Tuesday will only give the EDL more confidence in their march."

The Commission's guidance advises that: "Trustees have a duty to protect the assets of their charity and avoid taking undue risks, which would include the risk of giving a platform to speakers who condone terrorism or other illegal activity, or who express extremist views."

It adds that: "Some views may not be the norm or traditional. They may be controversial. That does not necessarily mean they cannot be promoted or supported by a charity. Expressing strongly controversial or partisan views is not illegal or unacceptable under charity law in itself, unless they are criminal.

"However, whether they are unacceptable for a charity to promote or condone under charity law will depend on the circumstances, what is said, when, who to and why, as well as how, if at all, they can be said to further the charity's purposes."

The guidance is particularly aimed at educational establishments and provides more specific guidance for such organisations. It advises that universities have an overarching responsibility for activities taking place on their grounds or by associated groups.

No official charity complaints received

Despite the level of protest surrounding Le Pen's visit, neither the Charity Commission nor the Higher Education Funding Council for England, Cambridge University's principal regulator, have received any official complaints, civilsociety.co.uk is advised.

Some students have taken to Twitter to express their intrigue and to question whether Le Pen should be allowed the "same rights as everyone else". But CUSU's Black and Minority Ethnic Campaign disagrees:

"While we recognise the value of free speech, we feel it is a retrogressive step for the Cambridge Union to provide platforms to speakers, like Marine Le Pen, who promotes hatred and discord between communities. Me Le Pen is the leader of a party that seeks to legitimise racist views and Islamaphobia."

'Double standards'

In response to Le Pen's visit the Muslim Charities Forum has raised concerns about double standards on extremism:

"Marine Le Pen’s appearance at the Cambridge Union shows clearly that there is a double standard where far-right extremist views are seen as moderate and tolerable compared to other forms of extremism. We should be unanimous in condemning all forms of extremism.

"We hope that the Charity Commission will pay as much attention to this as it has done to other forms of extremism given the recent guidance it has published."

While Cambridge University is an exempt charity and as such is principally regulated by HEFCE, Cambridge Union Society is registered with the Charity Commission. A spokeswoman for the Commission advised that it has not received any direct complaints about today's event, adding:

"Our guidance sets out what trustees need to consider, and obviously where there is media interest as there has been here, this means there are potential risks that we would expect the trustees to have considered, and to have taken steps to mitigate. 

"Obviously the guide also makes clear that supporting or endorsing activities that are illegal amounts to misconduct on the part of trustees but that does not appear to be the case here."

Regarding the MCF's comments the spokeswoman said the Commission had nothing to add.