We the undersigned unreservedly condemn the escalating use of police violence against peaceful protest at the University of London (News, 6?December).
On 4 December, students were violently evicted from Senate House, University of London by private security and police. On 5?December, a protest march in Bloomsbury in their support, calling for “Cops off campus”, was attacked and kettled by the police, and more than 30 staff and students were arrested.
We believe this marks an escalation in the use of force directed against student-led protest at the University of London, violence that threatens the institution’s ethos.
It seems clear that the university’s managers are not negotiating with students and staff who protest – including occupying students – but are simply attempting to suppress dissent. We condemn the blanket injunction brought by the institution against demonstrations and occupations across its many campuses.
We call on all who care about the future of?our universities to object to this invited invasion of police on to campus. Police intimidation has no place in seats of learning. Many of?our staff and students have fled repressive regimes: we are horrified at supposedly “liberal” university management adopting these tactics.
We demand an immediate repudiation of the injunction by the University of London’s management and no more police on campus. We also call on managers to engage with students and staff about the concerns that led?to the protests in the first place.
Molly Cooper, Unison Service Group Executive
Sean Wallis, University and College Union NEC and UCU president, UCL
Charlie Owen, UCU president, Institute of Education
Daniel Lemberger Cooper, vice-president, University of London Union
Louise Lamb, Unison
Yassin Benserghin, UCL Unison vice-chair
Max Watson, London Metropolitan University’s Unison branch secretary and NEC
Elizabeth Lawrence, UCU vice-president
Mark Campbell, London Met UCU (chair), UCU NEC (London and the East HE)
Kath Owen, Unison HE Yorkshire
Matt Raine, Unison HE West Midlands
Gyta Nicola, Unison branch secretary, Institute of Education
Mark Abel, senior lecturer and UCU committee member
Patrick Baker, lecturer in politics, Goldsmiths UCU
Pete Bicknell, UCU branch secretary, Lewisham branch
John Brissenden, branch chair, Bournemouth University UCU
Nadje Al-Ali, professor of gender studies, president, Soas UCU
Pura Ariza, UCU branch secretary, Manchester Metropolitan University, UCU NW Regional Secretary
Prof Des Freedman, secretary, Goldsmiths UCU
John Baker UCU branch chair, University of Westminster (Regent branch)
Patricia Costall
Dennis Leech, joint president, University of Warwick UCU
George Binette, Camden Unison branch secretary and Camden Trades Council chair
Jonathan Rosenhead, professor (emeritus), LSE
Andy Coles, study coach, University of Manchester UCU
Laura Miles, UCU NEC
Saladin Meckled-Garcia, expert in human rights
Stewart Smyth, lecturer in accounting
Tim Canfer, course UCU membership secretary
Rodney Chalis, secretary, UCU, Doncaster College
Marion Hersh, UCU NEC
Ed Mustill, King’s College London, Unison branch committee member
Chris Jury, Bath Spa University UCU
Iain Ferguson, University of the West of Scotland UCU
Matteo Mandarini
Melanie Cooke
Jackie Hodgson
Unit Yildiz, UCU Bradford College branch equality officer
Judith Watson, senior research fellow, University of Brighton
Steve Edwards, head of department of art history, The Open University
Michael Hrebeniak, fellow, admissions tutor (arts)
Ian Crosson, UCU membership secretary, Poplar branch
Ben Page, UCL
John Clossick, Wandsworth Against Cuts
Deborah Bowman, Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Lisa C. Robertson, Warwick
Andy Cunningham, assistant branch secretary, Unison Manchester Met
Paul Rowlandson, lecturer in management, University of Ulster
Lee Jones, senior lecturer in international politics
Leo Zeilig
Professor M.M. Lisboa, University of Cambridge
Kate Douglas, PCS DWP
Luke Evans, Queen Mary University of London Unison
Mick Carpenter, professor of social policy, Warwick
Cliff Snaith, UCU London Met secretary and UCU regional secretary
Holly Bank
Loraine Monk, UCU NEC
Elizabeth Dowler
George Oppitz-Trotman, Cambridge
Jonathan Neale, senior lecturer, Bath Spa
Stuart White
Nadia Edmond, University of Brighton
Gioia Coppola, Left Unity
Richard Smith, associate professor, Warwick
Daragh O’Reilly, UCU University of Sheffield
Merilyn Moos, retired UCU member
Daniel Katz, Warwick
Maria Pentaraki, Liverpool Hope University vice-chair, UCU branch
Karma Nabulsi, University of Oxford
Elena Boschi, lecturer, Liverpool Hope
John T. Chalcraft, associate professor, LSE
Ian Grigg-Spall, professor of law, National Critical Lawyers Group
Lauren Jade, Thompson, Warwick
Andy Scally, University of Bradford UCU
Jake Douglas, UCU joint branch secretary, College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London
Colin Rourke, emeritus professor of mathematics
Emma Campbell, Warwick
Gurminder K. Bhambra, Warwick
Robert Fine, Warwick
Keith Simpson, City University, UCU president
Dominic Kelly, associate professor, Warwick
Neal Lawson, chair, Compass
Brendon Donovan, UCU (retired member)
Jim Q, Smith, Warwick
Amy Gilligan, NUS NEC
Doug Pope, tutorial learning mentor, Barnsley College
Will Smith, Unite branch secretary, Cambridge
Maire Daley, UCU, City of Liverpool College
Susan Michie, professor of health, UCL
Gill George, Unite
Robin Hersch
Andy Fugard, lecturer, UCL
Rachele De Felice
James Kneale, UCL
Feyzi Ismail, UCU
Ron Mendel, UCU branch secretary, University of Northampton
Frank Innes, UCU Lambeth
Claudia Blindauer, associate professor, Warwick
Richard Jennings, affiliated scholar, Cambridge
Heidi Lempp
Sophie Hope, secretary, UCU Birkbeck
Rupert Waldron, international academic tutor, University of the Arts London
Mark Foord, principal lecturer, University of Central Lancashire
Jill Daniels, senior lecturer, University of East London
Richard McEwan, UCU NEC
Tamsin Piper, UCL branch secretary, Unite
John Burgess UCL
Steven Shakespeare, senior lecturer, Liverpool Hope University
Lee Humber, Oxford Brookes University UCU
Daniel Hind
Lucy Neville
John Pickering, Warwick
Geoff Williams, UCL UCU
Karen Evans, UCU national negotiator and senior lecturer, University of Liverpool
Ruth Aylett, professor of computer science, Heriot-Watt University
Andre Burbidge, Unison
Pete Gillard, chair, Unite London and Eastern Regional Committee
Steven Ellis, Unison
Terry Ng-knight
Barry Pavier
Sarah Monk, Cambridge
Daniel Hartley, Queen Mary University of London
Rosie Langridge, Queen Mary
David Pick, Queen Mary
Greg Dow, Queen Mary
Daniels Morgan
Helen Rhiannon Tyson
Rhys Bearder, King’s College London
Emily Balls, Unison, King’s College London
Anna Kemp
Tessa Whitehouse, lecturer, Queen Mary
Sheila Cullen, University of Brighton, UCU coordinating committee
Alen Toplisek, Queen Mary
Jenny Chamarette, Queen Mary
Rachael Gilmour, Queen Mary
Julie Hartley
Roberto Veneziani, Queen Mary
Vesna Milanovic, Queen Mary
Lauren Dalton, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Graham Mustin, UCU, Yorkshire & Humberside region
Viv Acious, Unison City and Islington College
Julian Ingle, Queen Mary
Shirley Jordon
Rob Bryer, professor of accounting, Warwick
Sarwan Singh, City Law School
Juliet Rayment, City University London
Madeleine Davis, Queen Mary
Eurig Scandrett, Queen Mary UCU
Neil Davidson, University of Glasgow
Hazel Conley, Queen Mary
Brian Harding, Queen Mary
Patricia D’Allemand, Queen Mary
Jyrki Tuomainen, UCL
Nicholas Cimini, EIS lecturer, Edinburgh Napier University
Robert Freedman, Warwick
Clare Thomas, Birkbeck Unison
Colin Breathnach, University of Strathclyde
Robin Burrett, LSE UCU
Isabelle Marcoul
Louis Bayman, UCU Oxford Brookes
Chantal Hill
Neil Rogall, UCU London (retired)
Paul Philo, UCU and Green Party
Owan J. Logan, research fellow, University of Aberdeen
John Graham, Queen Margaret University
Gregory Wellington, City
Howard James, Unite, King’s College London
Tony Sullivan, UCU branch secretary, London College of Fashion
Andrew Lincoln, Queen Mary
Rosie Calokatsia
Cheryl Whitehorn, LSHTM
Anthony Barnett, Open Democracy
Hannah Dee Chair, Defend The Right to Protest
Jamie Stern-Weiner, Cambridge
Mazen Masri, City
Sophie Harman, senior lecturer, Queen Mary
Chris Rossdale
Andrew Loveland, research manager, Queen Mary
Joseph Jackson, teaching fellow, Warwick
Daniel Swain, University of Essex UCU
Martin Newby, professor of statistical science, City
Jim Hollinshead, UCU branch secretary, Liverpool John Moores University
Chloe Schlosberg, City
Rebecca Williams, Warwick
Duncan Adam, Warwick UCU
Nicholas Lawrence, Warwick
Atanas Kozarev, Warwick
Stephen Bates, Warwick
Ahu Tatli, Queen Mary
Delia Lomax, UCU Scotland
Peter Jones, Queen Mary
Jorg Schaub, Essex
Dominic McCabe
Chris Rossdale
Jeffrey R. Webber, Queen Mary
Bob Mason, University of Ulster
Upamanyu Pablo Mukherjee, Warwick
Maria Quintero
Nadia Davids, lecturer, Queen Mary
Nancy Wallace, UCU, Queen Mary
Lisa Schmidt, LSHTM
Graham Clarke, Essex
Allison Hunter, King’s College London
Brigitte Biehl-Missal
Angela Ng
Patty Kostkova, UCL
Jamie Mackay, Warwick
Scott Anderson, Queen Mary
Chris Green, Queen Mary
Sarah Mosedale, research fellow, University of Liverpool
Timo Jutten, Essex
Graeme MacDonald, Warwick
Louise Purbrick, University of Brighton
Hemlata Patel, King’s College London
Richard Seymour, teacher/PhD student
Fernne Brennan, senior lecturer in law
Adrian Cousins, Unite, LSHTM
John Draper
Andrea Armitage, UCU, Barnsley College
Pauline Croft, Royal Holloway, University of London
Cathryn Setz, University of Oxford
Robert Gildea, professor of modern history
Alice Bell, University of Sussex
Luisa Cale, Birkbeck
Sue Shanks, chair of Children & Young People’s Committee, Brighton and Hove City Council
Jennifer Cole, PhD student, Oxford
Grietje Baars, lecturer, City
Sarah Lonsdale, City
Kirsteen Anderson, Queen Mary
Eli Davies, further education UCU member
Owen Taylor, Soas, University of London
Nick Evans, Oxford
Aggie Hirst, lecturer in international politics, City
Osama Malik
Katharine Peddie
Carina Hart
Michelle Kelly, Oxford
Valerie Fraser, Essex
Rory Fitzgerald, City
Morris Pamplin, City
Liam Campling, Queen Mary
Kate Reader, City
Cristina Gacek, City
Rainbow Murray, reader (associate professor), Queen Mary
Chris Mansfield, Queen Mary
Chris W.
Allyson Noble, Strathclyde
Debbie Poynter, lecturer, City
Nadine El-Enany, lecturer in law, Birkbeck
David Walker, Brighton and Hove Green Party executive
Svein Magnason
Jo Littler
Mick Jardine, University of Winchester
Lois Lee, research associate, UCL
Victor Figueroa Clark, LSE
Andy Denis, City
Emma Howden, Unison Winchester
Laura Salisbury, University of Exeter
Rebecca Lewis, disability coordinator, City
Javed Khanzada, Unison UCL
Matthew Beaumont, UCL
Sukhdev Johal, Queen Mary
David Bowman, Royal Holloway
Richard Hyman, emeritus professor of industrial relations
Katrina Forrester, research fellow, St John’s College, Cambridge
Lee Humber, Oxford Brookes UCU
Demetrios Hadjidemetriou, UCU City and Islington College
Tom Cowley, branch secretary, Unite, City University London
Gerard Hanlon
Treacy Colm
Robert Jubb
Paul Glavey, lecturer, London College of Communication
Mira Shapur
Laura Avery
Mairead Enright, lecturer, Kent Law School.
Syd Kent, UCU, Essex (retired)
Shelly Asquith, president, University of the Arts Students’ Union
Hannah Roberts
Mostafa Rajaai
Rosie Black
Alan Bradshaw, Royal Holloway, University of London
Christine Lindey, UCU member
Jamie Allinson, University of Westminster
Jack Blake London College of Communication
Chris Sams
Sara Wright, branch chair, Middlesex University, Unison branch
Tony Credland, senior lecturer, London College of Communication
Goretti Horgan
Alan Dunnett Drama Centre at CSM
Zsofia Juhasz
Alecca Honein, University of London
Jeff Waistell, UCU
Lee Humber, UCU
Rowland Curtis, Queen Mary
Paul Howell, joint branch chair, Unison, Middlesex
Karl Andy Foster, senior lecturer, London College of Communication
Monica Biagioli, senior lecturer, London College of Communication
Hope Wolf
John Sidel, LSE
Marco Scalvini, LSE
Rachel Lara Cohen, department of sociology, City
Martha Mundy, professor emerita of anthropology, LSE
Wendy Willems, lecturer, LSE
Kalpana Wilson, UCU LSE
Allister Mactaggart, UCU branch chair, Chesterfield College
Matt Wilde
Martin Crook
Alison Powell
John Baxter, UCU Sheffield College (Hillsborough)
Kirsten Ainley, LSE
Ian Spencer, LSE UCU
Gary Anderson, UCU chair, Liverpool Hope
Andrew Wells, retired academic, LSE
Sebastian Balfour, emeritus professor, LSE
Jean-Paul Faguet, LSE
Aimee Gasston, Birkbeck
Marian Mayer, vice-chair, Bournemouth University UCU
Mark Broom, City
Monika Parrinder, senior tutor, London College of Communication
Frank Land, emeritus professor, LSE
Stephen Baker, lecturer in film and television studies
N. Vittal, UCU
Rosie Walker, LSE alumnus 2012, UCU
Jenny Robinson, UCL