Vice-chancellors warn Rishi Sunak over non-student ‘agitators’

Gillian Keegan, Education Secretary, and Rishi Sunak meet vice-chancellors in Downing Street – Carl Court/Pool via REUTERS

Leading universities have raised concerns that non-student “agitators” are infiltrating on-campus protests over Gaza to “stir division”.

Vice-chancellors sounded the alarm over the presence of extremist groups at the demonstrations in a meeting with Rishi Sunak.

They were summoned to Downing Street by the Prime Minister on Thursday for talks on the spread of pro-Palestinian encampments. The meeting came after the University of Cambridge rejected calls to clear a pro-Gaza camp on the lawn outside King’s College.

The US-style protests, which have seen students occupy the grounds of universities across the country, have been raging for five days. They have sparked concerns about rising anti-semitism and the intimidation of Jewish students, though the organisers insist their aims are peaceful.

At the gathering Mr Sunak warned universities that they must “root out” protesters on their grounds who “incite violence or glorify terrorism”.

Vice-chancellors in turn voiced concerns the demonstrations are being infiltrated by non-students to whip up hatred against Jewish people.

“Concerns were raised around non-student ‘agitators’ infiltrating on-campus protests in order to stir division,” Downing Street said after the talks.

The heads of 17 top universities including Oxford and Cambridge, which have both been gripped by controversial protests, were at the meeting.

Representatives from the Union of Jewish Students and the Community Security Trust, which monitors incidents of anti-semitism, were also present.

But the scandal-hit National Union of Students was not invited after ministers suspended cooperation in 2022 over allegations of anti-semitism.

Mr Sunak told the vice-chancellors they must take “personal responsibility for protecting Jewish students” and adopt a “zero tolerance” approach to anti-Semitism.

He made the remarks after earlier telling his Cabinet that there had been “an unacceptable rise in anti-Semitism on our university campuses” in recent times.

Tom Tugendhat, the security minister, warned university leaders that “freedom of speech didn’t extend to the right to abuse or intimidate”.

He added that he was “personally committed” to supporting institutions that needed help managing the protests and rooting out extremists.

Cambridge rebuke

His remarks appeared to be a rebuke to Cambridge, which justified its decision not to clear the King’s College camp on free-speech grounds.

Mr Sunak also urged vice-chancellors to discipline student protesters who crossed the line and said they should call in the police if necessary.

“He was clear they should take disciplinary action if students are found to have been guilty of anti-Semitism or glorification of terrorism or any form of intimidation or violence,” the Prime Minister’s spokesman said.

“The police already have powers such as if people are engaging in illegal activity or acting on behalf of a proscribed group, they have legal powers to take action.

“Universities themselves would want to identify if there are non-student agitators engaging on university premises.”

He added that the demonstrations “must happen in a way that does not intimidate Jewish students and does not incite violence or glorify terrorism, and clearly universities should be held to account for dealing with these protests appropriately”.

The encampment at Newcastle University as protesters enjoy a morning lie-in – Raoul Dixon / NNP

Vice-chancellors told Mr Sunak they were ready to use eviction orders to clear out protesters where they were in clear breach of university rules.

The meeting came as Prof Dame Sally Mapstone, the head of Universities UK, said institutions “may need to take action” if the protests interfere with campus life.

She said there should not be an “automatic” presumption that the camps should be cleared and that decisions should be made based on the behaviour of the protesters.

“Where there is clear evidence that encampments are interfering with good university business and with the rights of students and staff to go about their business – to take exams, to do their degree shows, to graduate – then universities may need to take action,” she said.

Lisa Fithian

Meanwhile, the mayor of New York Eric Adams warned that “outside agitators” were infiltrating the pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia University and released a video of “protest consultant” Lisa Fithian.

She has been arrested between 80 and 100 times having supported everything from anti-Iraq War demos to Occupy Wall Street.

The president of Columbia University said the protests were made worse by “external forces” and “those from outside our community”.

Baroness Shafik, a British-American peer and former civil servant, called for universities to “heal and unify” after weeks of protests and encampments that have often ended in clashes with the police.

She said the protests had been exacerbated by people from outside the university that had whipped up hate speech and anti-Semitism and held separate demonstrations outside Columbia’s gates in New York.

“It would be a mistake to think that a small group of students with connections to the Arab world drove these protests,” she wrote in an article for the Financial Times.

“What I saw was a broad representation of young people of every ethnic and religious background — passionate, intelligent and committed.

“Unfortunately, the actions and anti-Semitic comments of some — especially among those from outside our community — stirred fear and discomfort.”

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