In the latest in a wave of campus sit-ins across the UK, about 100 students entered the university¡¯s Bloomsbury headquarters this afternoon.

The protesters say they have take over a ¡°main management corridor and the vice-chancellor¡¯s office¡± to call attention to the ¡°disgraceful and unaccountable manner¡± in which the university is run.

¡°This action is restorative; displacing the undemocratic and unaccountable management with a democratic space for the free pursuit of knowledge, critical enquiry and dissent,¡± the protesters claimed in a statement.

The sit-in follows similar protests over the last fortnight at the universities of Birmingham, Edinburgh, Exeter, Sheffield, Sussex, the University of Ulster¡¯s Coleraine campus and Goldsmiths, University of London.

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Students occupying Senate House say they will not leave until a series of 10 demands are met.

These include a call for all outsourced staff to receive the same sick pay, holiday and pension entitlements as in-house staff and for the return of the University of London Union¡¯s block grant, enabling it to avoid closure.

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It also wants a pledge to ensure student accommodation is not outsourced and rents are in line with the money student¡¯s receive from maintenance loans.

The demonstrators also want the pay ratio between the lowest paid and the highest paid staff in the university to be reduced to a maximum of 10:1, while calling for the financial statements of the university¡¯s academic departments and non-academic services to be published.

The Senate House action follow a two-day picket by outsourced cleaners last week, who called for equal pay and conditions to in-house staff.

Members of four higher education unions ¨C the University and College Union, Unite, Unison and EIS, in Scotland ¨C also held a second one-day strike on 3 December against a ¡°miserly¡± 1 per cent pay offer.

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The University of London confirmed that parts of Senate House are being occupied by ¡°a group or groups of as yet unidentified people¡±.

Chris Cobb, chief operating officer and university secretary, said he was concerned for the welfare of staff and students following the sit-in.

¡°We have witnessed some extremely dangerous behaviour on the part of the occupiers, including climbing onto the external balconies,¡± he said.

¡°We will do everything to ensure that no one is at risk, including the protesters,¡± he added.

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jack.grove@tsleducation.com