UK universities worked together to suppress pro-Palestine activism, report reveals

British universities worked together to suppress pro- Palestine activism on student campuses, a new report has revealed. Amnesty International on Tuesday published its Silencing Dissent report, which found that UK universities actively worked together to stop students protesting their universities’ ties to Israel ’s genocidal war on Gaza . Freedom of Information (FOI) disclosures examined in the report found that universities “were not acting in isolation when responding to Palestine solidarity protest, but are operating within a network which encouraged repressive responses". FOI-obtained messages showed university administrators discussing disciplinary measures, including injunctions to stop protests and referring student protesters to the UK's Prevent counterterrorism programme . Emails released via an FOI from the University of Northampton showed senior staff directly collaborating to share tactics for containing the protests, with one administrator asking peers whether other institutions were “locking in” their student protesters. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters According to the report, the Universities UK (UUK) network, a representative body for 142 British universities, further amplified this collaboration. UUK played a central role by hosting weekly calls with vice-chancellors whose campuses faced pro-Palestine encampments, creating a “standard forum to share practices and align approaches”. These coordination efforts extended directly into the heart of government. FOI disclosures from the University of Kent indicated that UUK worked closely with government departments and senior ministers, organising meetings between vice-chancellors and Downing Street while communicating government expectations to member institutions. As protests intensified, UUK collaborated closely with the Department for Education and the Office for Students (OfS), advising universities on reputational risk, protest management, and legal avenues such as civil injunctions. UUK did not respond to request for comment at the time of writing. Private security and threat monitoring The report also found that university security officers coordinated their protest responses through the Association of University Chief Security Officers (Aucso), an organisation representing security officers in higher education. Ahead of national mobilisations, the Aucso South West chair circulated strategic briefings to prepare universities for heightened protest activity, while advising institutions to consult data protection officers and apply FOI exemptions to shield their internal security communications from public view. Student who wrote about 'anti-Jewish hatred' linked to multiple Israel groups Read More » The Aucso also provided centrally drafted press templates for local adaptation to help institutions manage public scrutiny. The report notes that at least nine universities received threat briefings from private intelligence firms, including Horus Security Consultancy Ltd, Mitie Intelligence Hub and the risk specialist Global Situational Awareness (GSA). Intelligence updates routinely classified non-violent student actions with severe threat levels. In May 2025, student-led weeks of action were given a "high threat level" and defined as a coordinated security concern by Global Security Operations Centre (GSOC), which describes itself as a "24/7 centralised command hub" that monitors "security threats". These private briefings flagged peaceful protest slogans - such as, "From the river to the sea" - as "escalatory rhetoric", and advised authorities to monitor the social media channels of at least 15 university-based Palestine societies, including groups at SOAS, Leeds, Imperial College London and Glasgow.# Earlier this year, Al-Jazeera revealed that UK universities had paid former British military intelligence officials thousands of pounds to "spy" on students campaigning for Gaza. Horus Security Consultancy limited, which describes itself as a "leading intelligence" firm, was paid at least 440,000 ($594,000) by UK universities since 2022. Their services including scouring social media pages of activists, looking for potential threats and conducted secret counter-terror threats assessments on behalf of some of Britain's most prestigious universities. Copyright © 2014 - 2026 . Middle East Eye. All rights reserved. Only England and Wales jurisdiction apply in all legal matters. Middle East Eye ISSN 2634-2456