Last year's tuition fee protests: University constables outside the Old School as protesters occupy indoors.

“RADICAL lawyer” Michael Mansfield QC has said Cambridge University should have stood up and led an opposition against £9,000-a-year tuition fees.

The man who represented men wrongly convicted of IRA bombings, Michael Barrymore at the inquest of Stuart Lubbock, and Mohamed Al-Fayed at Princess Diana’s inquest, is up against Brian Blessed, Lord Sainsbury, and local shopkeeper Abdul Arain in the battle for chancellor of the Cambridge University.

Mr Mansfield told students at the Cambridge Union hustings last night it is a country’s quality of education which reflects its society.

Speaking on tuition fees increases, he said: “Education is not a commodity. We are not dealing with a market places where you sell education.

“That was never how it was meant to be. I do want to say there is another way to do this.

“You need an educated population to make decisions.”

He rounded on the Government for putting an “economic straitjacket” on universities. He said Cambridge should have stood up and opposed the tuition fee hike and led other universities against them - only then would the Government have taken notice.

He also praised the students who took part in the occupation of the Old Schools and said if he were chancellor he would be keen to “start a dialogue” with such people - a strategy very much at odds with that of Vice Chancellor Leszek Borysiewicz’s, who refused to talk to the protesters.

Mr Mansfield is also a keen environmentalist and is currently battling for people to be held legally accountable for “laying waste to the environment”.

Today, the remaining candidates - Mill Road shopkeeper Abdul Arain and Lord Sainsbury - will speak at the Union. Brian Blessed gave a stirring speech on Monday.

Voting for the chancellor position will take place on Friday and Saturday with members of the university’s senate responsible for the final decision.

More in Cambridge First this week.