Students at Britain's prestigious Cambridge University defended inviting Dominique Strauss-Kahn to speak on Friday, as the disgraced ex-IMF chief faced angry protests. Campaigners have asked the lawyer for the New York hotel maid who accused Strauss-Kahn of sexual assault - leading to the Frenchman's resignation as International Monetary Fund head in May - to give a rival speech.
The Cambridge Union debating society said that Strauss-Kahn was "exceptionally well-qualified" to speak on the global economy, and added that they had invited him before the sex allegations emerged. "We must state that the Union will not be rescinding its invitation to Mr Strauss-Kahn," the Cambridge Union said in a statement.
"The society has been inviting him to address our members for several years, given his economic knowledge as then head of the IMF, and his experience of French politics. "He was not invited after or as a result of the circumstances surrounding his departure from the IMF."
The statement added: "We feel Mr Strauss-Kahn is exceptionally well qualified to speak on some of the most prominent international headlines of 2012, namely the global financial crisis and the French presidential election, and so we believe he will give a pertinent and interesting speech."
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