A UCL student was arrested by three officers from the Metropolitan Police on campus, The Cheese Grater understands.
The student was one of the key speakers at a student walkout, organised by UCL Coalition for Palestine, which is calling upon UCL to “demilitarise research now”.
The Metropolitan Police released a statement on Twitter (X) revealing that they arrested the student “on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence in relation to the alleged chanting of slogans involving calls for intifada.”
The term ‘intifada’ is an Arabic word meaning “to shake off; to dust off”, often used for rebellions or uprisings.
The word remains contested: while Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer previously stated that calls to “globalise the intifada” were a “call to attack Jews”, others characterise it as an expression of solidarity with Palestinian resistance.
This arrest coincides with UCL’s 200th anniversary celebrations, with pro-Palestine protests disrupting UCL Illuminated on Wednesday. Witnesses told The Cheese Grater protestors projected “Free Palestine” onto the Portico.
A source told The Cheese Grater that while the police presence was initially small, more officers arrived after the student delivered a speech before the protestors.
As the student was taken off campus, he was followed by what had become a larger crowd of protestors chanting “Let him go” and “Shame”, videos of the event show.
At this point, photographs show that the activists were met by approximately 30 uniformed police officers, who formed a blockade across the campus exit.
No student was allowed to leave campus while the arrested student was being taken to the police van, according to witnesses. This lasted roughly 10 minutes.
Students were also blocked from entering or exiting the Student Centre, with IDs being checked at the door.
One witness estimated that around 100 students were present at the walkout prior to the student’s arrest. The Cheese Grater cannot verify this claim.
The student had been separated from the rest of the group after his opening speech and was taken aside by three police officers, photos of the event show.
For almost an hour, witnesses allegedly heard the activists performing chants of “Free, Free Palestine” and “Met Police [...] your hands are bloody too”.
The student was spoken to by the officers, who had backed him into the wall.
At this point, witnesses told us that the activist with the loudhailer began a “mic check”, a process where protesters are reminded of their legal rights should they be arrested, also acting as a call for mutual support.
Multiple uniformed officers in hi-vis vests were spotted by witnesses waiting at the entrance to campus next to the Student Centre with three police vans parked outside.
At approximately 1:50pm, an officer informed the student that he was under arrest. It was at this point that the blockade began.
The Cheese Grater spoke to a student who attended the protest; they claim that they were pushed by the police.
The student said, “as we got near the vans, at least me and both women to either side of me were pushed with force, in my case shoving with both hands against my back and yelling to ‘get back’.
“Then other police kept shoving us back to clear the area for the van to leave.” The Cheese Grater cannot verify these claims.
When the blockade ended, the remaining protestors crowded the street next to the vans. Videos shared with The Cheese Grater show protestors chanting “Met Police, KKK, IDF, you’re all the same”.
During the walkout, Cheese Grater reporters witnessed students writing messages with chalk on the floor, and a banner drop outside the History Department.
A spokesperson from UCL Action For Palestine said:
“Police were called before protesters even arrived for what was always intended to be an entirely peaceful protest.
“UCL stood by and did nothing to prevent the arrest of a student on campus. This is yet another example of UCL repression and intimidation. How are we meant to feel safe expressing ourselves and making our voices heard when police are called on us by our own university when we do?”
A UCL spokesperson said:
“A demonstration took place today at UCL as part of a nationwide “Student Day of Action on Palestine”, during which a student was detained by Police for using the term 'intifada'.
“Our ongoing priority is to keep all of our staff and students safe on campus and we are urgently investigating this incident, and will take any action, as necessary. Peaceful protest is protected and supported at UCL, but protest that involves violent or discriminatory language will not be tolerated.
“All forms of antisemitism are utterly abhorrent and have absolutely no place at UCL. We remain firmly committed to eradicating it from our campus and have communicated this consistently to our community through proactive messaging and targeted actions.
“Freedom of speech and academic freedom are vital to university life, but they can never be used as a shield for hatred. When incidents occur, or are reported to us, we have taken - and will continue to take - swift and decisive action to address them.”
The police officers in question were approached for comment but declined to make a statement.