UK universities paid security firm to monitor pro-Palestine students and academics: Report
Twelve British universities paid a security firm to monitor students and academics, including those who have expressed solidarity with Palestine, a new investigation has revealed.
A joint investigation by Al Jazeera and Liberty Investigates found that Horus Security - a firm run by former military intelligence officials - has been paid £440,000 since 2022 to monitor student social media activity and conduct counterterror threat assessments.
Internal documents revealed that a Palestinian academic invited to give a guest lecture at Manchester Metropolitan University, and a pro-Palestine PhD student at the London School of Economics were among those monitored by the firm.
According to the report, in total 12 universities commisioned Horus Security to perform this work. Others included the University of Oxford, Imperial College London, University College London (UCL), King’s College London (KCL), the University of Sheffield, the University of Leicester, the University of Nottingham and Cardiff Metropolitan University.