King’s College London faces scrutiny over pro-Palestine discipline cases
An investigation found King’s opened at least 26 disciplinary cases tied to pro-Palestine activity, more than any other UK university reviewed.
By Daniel Okafor · Business Editor
4 min read
King’s College London has opened at least 26 disciplinary investigations linked to pro-Palestine student activity since October 2023, according to reporting by Al Jazeera and Liberty Investigates. The findings matter because they place the university at the centre of a wider dispute over campus protest, free expression and institutional ties to the defence sector.
The investigation said Freedom of Information requests were sent to 156 UK universities. It found that 42 institutions had investigated as many as 236 students and staff connected to pro-Gaza activity, with King’s recording the highest disclosed total. University College London had at least 24 cases, Oxford 18 and Cardiff 12, according to the same reporting.
King’s rejected the suggestion that it punishes students for lawful political views or protest. A university spokesperson told Al Jazeera and Liberty Investigates that action is taken only after complaints and in response to conduct that threatens safety or free expression, or is racist or abusive.
One case involved a student identified by the investigators as Khadija, whose name was changed to protect her identity. She was seven weeks into her degree when the university contacted her over WhatsApp messages about a lecturer who had served in the Israeli army, according to the investigation.
Khadija had posted in a pro-Gaza student group that she felt sick after finding the lecturer’s public LinkedIn profile and seeing posts defending Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, Al Jazeera and Liberty Investigates reported. Other students suggested protest actions, including wearing Palestinian scarves or bringing flags to lectures, but the investigation said none of those actions took place.
Ten days later, Khadija was barred from campus during the lecturer’s classes, according to the reporting. Over five months, she went through a disciplinary process, was considered for referral to Prevent, the UK government’s counterterrorism programme, and was ultimately ordered to write a 2,000-word reflective essay. No Prevent referral was made.
A disciplinary letter cited by Al Jazeera and Liberty Investigates said the university found Khadija had created conditions in which the lecturer became a target. The lecturer told the university they felt personally targeted and feared possible physical violence, according to the letter. Khadija told the investigators she did not intend to harass or intimidate the lecturer.
Encampments and protest cases
Thirteen of the 26 King’s students were investigated over a May 2025 encampment, documents reviewed by Al Jazeera and Liberty Investigates showed. Nine received formal warnings for putting up tents in breach of a health and safety policy introduced after an earlier encampment.
Other sanctions in the encampment cases concerned lending keycards to non-students and filming or questioning security staff in a way staff reported as intimidating, according to the investigation. A student identified as Hamza said the encampment followed stalled talks with university leaders over divestment from companies alleged to be complicit in Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
Six other students were sanctioned over protests connected to three events: a June 2024 alumni dinner, a February 2025 talk by a pro-Israel Iranian speaker and the May 2025 London Defence Conference, the investigation reported. Documents said two security guards were unintentionally injured amid pushing and shoving at one event.
Usama Ghanem, an Egyptian student, was indefinitely suspended over involvement in all three incidents, according to Al Jazeera and Liberty Investigates. The investigation said his visa was revoked, leaving him at risk of removal to Egypt, where he says he has been tortured.
Luqmaan Waqar, president-elect of the King’s students’ union, told the investigators that some cases required attention where people felt unsafe, but said the university’s approach had been uneven. Gina Romero, the UN special rapporteur for freedom of peaceful assembly and association, described the use of university disciplinary systems at institutions such as King’s as disturbing.
The dispute has also focused on King’s links to defence companies. Al Jazeera and Liberty Investigates reported that King’s has received at least 3.3 million pounds from research partnerships with BAE Systems, Thales and Rolls-Royce since 2020, citing an FOI response. The Campaign Against the Arms Trade says all three make components for F-35 jets used in Gaza.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.