Published on 22 February 2025
As many as 113 students and staff have faced disciplinary action in connection with their pro-Palestinian activism
Reports Aaron Walawalkar and Harriet Clugston for Liberty Investigates. Serena Barker-Singh, Isobel Lousseff and Joely Santa Cruz for Sky News.
Students are facing a “worsening crackdown on free speech”, a teaching union has warned, after new evidence emerged of universities reporting peaceful pro-Gaza protesters to police, subjecting dozens to disciplinary action, and collaborating with private surveillance firms.
At least 28 universities are now known to have launched disciplinary investigations against students and staff in connection with their Palestine activism since October 2023, with as many as 113 people affected, a joint investigation by Liberty Investigates and Sky News found.
Emails released under freedom of information (FOI) laws also revealed at least nine universities had received briefings on student protests from private intelligence and security companies, including Horus Security Ltd, Mitie Intelligence Hub and Global Situational Awareness (GSA) – though other emails suggest regular GSA briefings are circulated far more widely across other institutions.
Reporters spoke to both students and staff who criticised their universities for stifling academic freedom by allegedly placing “disproportionate” restrictions on pro-Gaza guest speakers, or calling the police on non-violent demonstrations, leading to violent clashes with officers on one campus and leaving students subject to tough police bail conditions at another.
The findings prompted Gina Romero, the United Nations special rapporteur for freedom of peaceful assembly, to condemn the “deeply disturbing situation” across UK campuses, as she accused universities of taking “deliberate actions to curtail” their students’ rights.
“It is as if, overnight, many universities had become an absolutely hostile space for dissent and free expression, for the exercise of rights, and for learning,” the protest watchdog added.
A wave of pro-Palestinian protest activity began on university campuses worldwide in late 2023, escalating during April 2024, as students demanded their institutions disclose and end any investments in companies considered complicit in Israel’s military action in Gaza.
At the University of Leicester, student activists who attempted to occupy a building in November have accused leadership of calling police on them rather than engaging constructively, leading to their arrest on suspicion of aggravated trespass. Six students have been subjected to police bail conditions such as a ban on visiting any UK campus other than for “[their] studies”, and an 8pm curfew which has since been lifted. Five reportedly remain temporarily excluded pending disciplinary investigations.
A member for the Leicester Action for Palestine group said the “confusing” bail conditions had left students “scared to go onto campus outside of lecture time, for example to use the library or to meet with tutors”. Leicestershire Police said the bail conditions were “proportionate”, adding that it used no force on protesters.
Leicester University said it supports lawful and peaceful protest but that students involved in the occupation had not followed proper processes, erecting barricades that posed “a risk to life” and left them with “no other option than to involve the police”.
Staff at Newcastle University meanwhile are demanding answers from bosses as to why an estimated 70 officers – including dog handlers – attended a peaceful building occupation in May, accusing them of “inviting police brutality onto our campus”.
A rally – described as non-violent and family friendly by academics from the Newcastle branch of the University College Union (UCU) – later descended into chaos in footage seen by reporters, with officers swiping at protesters with batons. Security staff also tore down children’s paintings and snapped a Palestinian flag, according to staff eyewitnesses.
And at Sheffield University, lecturers say they have been forced to cancel talks on Gaza after security asked them to agree to “disproportionate” restrictions – including asking attendees to state in advance if they will wear religious face coverings and reserving the right to search their bags, emails show.
Academics are concerned these “unnecessary” measures would re-traumatise Palestinian attendees. But a university spokesperson said the event organisers had not followed the correct risk assessment process, and that the measures outlined had been reasonable to ensure health and safety. The university “has always supported freedom of speech”, they added.
Alongside interviews with students and staff at universities across the UK, reporters from Liberty Investigates also submitted a series of FOI requests to more than 150 institutions, asking for emails discussing Gaza protest activity with police or other security departments between October 2023 and August 2024.
The disclosures showed at least 36 universities had correspondence with the police concerning student protests and more than a dozen held meetings with officers. In many cases universities shared social media posts or images of event flyers with police, and discussed the political views of guest speakers.
Last January, South Wales Police sought to “improve channels of intelligence sharing” with five universities, according to emails disclosed by Cardiff University.
Cardiff subsequently asked officers for details of staff and students arrested at off-campus protests. Staff then sent police a social media post that it believed showed individuals breaching their bail conditions, which included a ban on associating with each other or gathering in groups of more than five people.
“Hopefully useful,” Cardiff staff told officers, while asking if they would take further action. Officers replied that they would compare the images to mugshots. This could have led to them being re-arrested.
Video: Reporters reviewed dozens of videos taken by staff and students at a protest at the University of Newcastle in May 2024. Tensions escalated after a heavy police presence was sent to the campus, and protesters occupying a building were forcibly removed.
Other revelations in the cache of emails include:
A spokesperson for the University College Union (UCU) said the investigation had found “evidence of a worsening crackdown on free speech” for staff and students peacefully demonstrating against genocide.
“Universities should stand up for free speech and academic freedom,” they continued. “Rather than trying to clamp down on legitimate protest, [they] should be working with staff and students.
“Students generally resort to disruptive protest tactics when they are ignored by their universities on the issues they care about. The way to stop disruption is not to crackdown further, but to enter into meaningful discussions.”
Stella Swain, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign’s youth campaigns officer, added: “Universities should be adopting an ethical stance, not creating a climate of intimidation by cracking down on freedom of expression and risking replicating the kinds of violence directed at student protesters in the US.”
Nearly 50 universities refused to respond to at least one of the FOI requests put to them, often citing health and safety or security concerns, or saying to do so could compromise law enforcement efforts.
Between 80 and 113 students and staff have also been subjected to disciplinary investigations linked to pro-Palestine protest activity across at least 28 universities even before the current academic year, the probe found, though many of these refused to confirm exact numbers.
The Community Security Trust, a charity that protects British Jews from terrorism and antisemitism, says they would be concerned if the number of student disciplinaries had not risen alongside the uptick of student protests amid concerns about anti-Jewish hatred.
Some academics meanwhile have alleged instances of heavy-handedness amid what Netpol describes as a “relentlessly toxic” government discourse against Palestine protests and “growing intolerance” from the police towards disruption.
One such incident took place during an occupation protest at Newcastle University on 29 May. The response has been criticised in a staff-authored report shared exclusively with reporters, which highlights a decades-long history of similar student occupations that have passed without police interference.
Footage taken outside an entrance to the university’s Armstrong building and shared with reporters shows police carrying and dragging limp protesters out of a building by their limbs.
One such student collapsed with a seizure and was taken to hospital by paramedics, the North East Ambulance Service confirmed.
Dozens of officers are later seen pushing and struggling with crowds of agitated protesters outside a different entrance, before drawing their batons as the police line collapses and skirmishes break out.
Reporters obtained footage showing one instance of a protester being struck with a baton in the leg and reviewed evidence suggesting at least two other students were injured.
One student, Ivy*, provided reporters with photos of bruising on her arm said to have been caused by being grabbed by an officer.
Another, Hana*, a medical student volunteering to provide first aid at the protest, shared a medical letter confirming a knee injury after she was trampled by the crowd during a crush.
“This experience has completely eroded my trust in campus security and left me feeling unsafe on campus as a visibly Muslim woman,” she said.
In another video the treasurer of Newcastle’s Palestine Solidarity Campaign, who is in his 60s, appears to be forced to his knees by an officer involved in arresting him.
One member of academic staff in attendance, who said he witnessed at least three students being struck with batons, said: “Something that began with families and children being present, and was entered into in that spirit […] being responded to with that degree of violence, supported by campus security, was absolutely surreal.”
Northumbria Police said it was committed to providing a proportionate policing response to lawful protest and the safety of everyone in attendance was “paramount”, but that a number of protesters had refused to comply with police instructions. It is standard practice for the force’s dog section unit to attend public order callouts, it added, but dogs were at no stage deployed.
Since summer academics have been calling for leadership to explain the handling of the incident, and a subsequent move to amend the student code of conduct “without consultation” to make intentionally disruptive protests a disciplinary matter. Students and staff also allege an increase in police and security presence on campus and that they have been subject to surveillance.
One female Muslim student already deemed to have committed misconduct under the tightened rules described the disciplinary process as a “form of fear mongering and harassment”. A staff member took offence to her chanting an altered version of a phrase popularised during the 1980s miner’s strike, which went: “I’d rather be a picket than a racist / war criminal”.
The staff member felt personally insulted by the student – who denies targeting anyone in particular – as they claim to have been involved in the strike, according to documents seen by reporters.
A spokesperson said Newcastle University recognises and upholds the “fundamental right to freedom of speech [and has] measures in place to support peaceful protest”. When asked if disciplinary investigations unfairly targeted Muslim students, the spokesperson said its complaints procedures were “fair and impartial”.
“The rally on 29 May included individuals who were not staff or students at the university,” they added. “There were legitimate concerns for public safety so we contacted the police.”
Other universities may also be following suit in tightening up their protest rules. Cardiff vice chancellor Wendy Larner informed staff last October the university was “developing a new procedure relating to the right for peaceful and lawful process [sic],” according to internal documents seen by reporters.
A Cardiff spokesperson said the university was finalising guidance to “clarify our expectations” on legal and peaceful protest and “provide clarity on behaviours which are unacceptable”.
In London, anyone involved in unauthorised pro-Palestinian protests in the vicinity of the School of Oriental and African Studies’ (SOAS) risks breaching an injunction granted in October, which can result in prosecution for contempt of court and a potential two-year prison sentence. A SOAS spokesperson said: “Following this injunction, no student has ever been prevented from peacefully protesting on our campus for holding specific views – nor was the purpose of the injunction to stop or restrict peaceful protest.”
Most universities refused to specify the reasons and outcomes for disciplinary investigations against students and staff, saying this constitutes personal data. But the cases of affected students who spoke to reporters raise further questions as to whether Muslim students have been unfairly targeted.
Leeds student Suffian, also Muslim, was subject to a two-month investigation for “engaging in unauthorised protests […] and being a member of the encampment”. Following a meeting in which he says he was shown footage of himself entering a building and leading chants, he was issued a “formal warning”.
The 21-year-old, who is head of the Palestinian Society, said he felt the university was using its disciplinary process to prevent students from taking part in protests.
He added: “It’s like they’re putting me on a leash.”
Universities UK, which bills itself as the collective voice for the sector, said: “Universities work hard to balance their duty to protect and promote free speech, and to allow legitimate protest, with the obligation to ensure the safety of their campuses and the ability of staff and students to go about their work and study. In any case, they are also obliged by law to prevent hate speech and racism.
“While UUK does not have an operational role with our members, in instances including on the issue of protests and encampments, we have convened senior leaders and experts from the sector to share best practice and discuss the latest position.”
*some names have been changed to protect individuals’ identities.
A version of this article was published with Sky News.