Police were called to The Cock Tavern near Euston station after a local reportedly punched a student affiliated with the UCL Conservative Society on Thursday 9 October.
The altercation occurred following the first ‘Freshers Port & Policy Debate’ of the academic year: an event jointly hosted by UCL, City University, and KCL’s respective Conservative Societies.
The day had already got off to a strange start after the Tory Soc committee failed to meet with their own guest speaker, Jacob Rees Mogg, who was forced to go home after no one from the committee picked up a call from the Activities desk where Rees Mogg had arrived.
Between 20:30 and 21:00, having abandoned their guest speaker, approximately 40 society members arrived at The Cock Tavern: an Irish public house adorned with Celtic memorabilia, Palestine stickers, and the RMT flag. They describe themselves on their Google profile as “a working class, left-leaning Irish boozer.”
A witness, who described the group as “loud and obnoxious”, revealed that the members initially refused to disclose their affiliation with the Conservative Society, which was later uncovered after an individual turned around and revealed that the large group had come directly from the Port & Policy debate.
The witness conversed with a bartender outside of the pub, who claimed that a local “ended up hitting a drink out of one of [the Fresher’s] hands.”
Shortly after, both the witness and their two friends spotted the arrival of an “unmarked police car” before “three boys [went] over and start[ed] talking to them.” These men were affiliates of Tory Soc.
According to witnesses, the three boys, who called the police and talked to them “for over two hours” had followed the local into the bathroom where “the local hit one of them”. The Cheese Grater believes from witnesses that one of the pub landlords cooperated with police requests for CCTV footage of the incident. There was no sign of blood or visible injury according to the witness.
A former member of the Conservative Society committee also separately confirmed to a member of The Cheese Grater that at least one society member was the victim of physical violence and that this member was at least affiliated with the UCL Conservatives.
Whilst the three men were talking to the police, witnesses told The Cheese Grater they overheard what they believed to be a Nazi marching chant, which one witness identified as Auf der Heide, coming from half a dozen Freshers on another table. This was a separate incident which apparently lasted no more than “30 seconds” according to one witness.
After cooperating with the police, the landlord decided to stop serving the Freshers and they subsequently “started leaving around half 10” for their next stop: The East India Club in St James’ Square.
Staff at The Cock Tavern revealed that the police were involved but declined to speak further about the incident. The Met Police told The Cheese Grater that they are “unable to assist student journalists as we are extremely busy.”
A spokesperson from UCL Conservative Society told The Cheese Grater:
“We would like to make clear that the alleged events on the 9 October 2025 was not connected to or sanctioned by any official UCL Conservative Society event, and did not take place on UCL property. The event we advertised on our social media on the 9 October 2025 proceeded without issue.
“Following our scheduled event, some students visited a nearby public house, The Cock Tavern, 23 Phoenix Rd, London NW1 1HB. They did so of their own volition and made arrangements between themselves to go there. While there, two students (who are not UCL students) were approached by two individuals who initially appeared friendly, but after learning of their political affiliation, became confrontational. An altercation ensued in which drinks were knocked over and a brief pushing match occurred. The bartender promptly intervened and separated those involved.
“Those two students were then reportedly cornered in the lavatory and were physically assaulted, with both incurring bruises on the temple. We subsequently contacted the police and made an official report.
“This matter is now under active police investigation, and the information we have provided above is what we know as of the time of writing. The UCL Conservative Society wholeheartedly condemns any form of violence or intimidation on the basis of political belief. These freshers suffered a politically-driven attack in a public space.
“It is sad that these first-year students were intimidated due to their political affiliations. This is the antithesis of what it means to live in a democratic society, where freedom of expression is a fundamental principle. To disagree respectfully is the cornerstone of academic freedom and for students to be assaulted on this basis sends a deeply worrying signal about the state of the nation. We will continue to support our members and cooperate fully with the authorities as this investigation proceeds.
“On the separate allegation, we wholeheartedly deny there was any chanting of Auf der Heide or any such abhorrent lyrics on the premises. Our eyewitnesses have confirmed that no such singing or chanting took place at any point. These claims are entirely false and without basis.”
