Met Police accused of ‘harassing’ pro-Palestine protestors outside King’s College London

The Metropolitan Police has been accused of harassing and assaulting pro-Palestine student protestors outside King’s College London. 

On Thursday 8th May, protestors gathered outside Bush House to voice their disagreement against the annual London Defence Conference and its ties to the arms trade.

King’s College London has hosted the conference for the past three years, with this year’s meeting including speeches from Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Vice Chancellor, Professor Shitij Kapur.

Protestors were heard chanting phrases such as “Palestine should be free” whilst blocking the entrance to Bush House.

However, despite the protest being largely peaceful, officers were accused of physically assaulting students.

A video posted to the KCLStands4Justice Instagram account, appears to show protestors being pushed by police and King’s security.

The person recording can be heard shouting: “They are protestors…why are you pushing protestors?”

The video has since gained over 40,000 views and 100 comments.

One comment read: “We have a right to protest,” whilst another said: “Police are on the wrong side of humanity.”

Further videos appeared to show an officer nudging a student protestor with his foot and holding the student’s head with his legs. The student can be heard saying “you’re hurting my head”, to which the officer replied with “you’re hurting my foot”.

According to UK law, police officers are only allowed to use force against protestors when it is absolutely necessary to do so.

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A King’s College London spokesperson said: “Freedom of speech for students and staff is a fundamental right, and we support the right to protest. However, our priority must be the safety of our students and staff, and the blocking of some entrances and exits is not permissible within our clear guidelines as it poses a direct risk to safety.

“As the protest took place on a public thoroughfare, staff worked with the police to maintain safe access for students, staff and the public. If students or staff have a complaint to raise, they should submit it to Report and Support so it can be investigated in line with our robust policies and procedures.”

The Metropolitan Police did not respond to a request for comment 

KCLStands4Justice declined to comment.

Featured image via Instagram