Investigation shows Welsh universities sharing information with police

Yahoo

22-02-2025

Universities in Wales have been sharing information with police about protests, talks, and prayer vigils on campus, including sharing images and videos of protesters, an investigation has found. Staff from Cardiff University contacted police to confirm the names of any staff or students who had been arrested saying the university wanted to "support [any] bail conditions," and "consider any potential implications for [visa] sponsorship" for a foreign member of staff.
The information, obtained via an investigation by Sky News and Liberty Investigates, details of which have been shared with WalesOnline, show what one union claims is a "worsening crackdown on free speech". Reporters submitted a series of FOI requests to all UK universities, including eight in Wales, showing police and universities sharing information about protests, talks, and prayer vigils on campus and including sharing images and videos of protesters and fliers advertising events.
Ten students and staff at Cardiff University have been subjected to disciplinary investigations in connection with activism. The investigations into seven students and three staff is one of the highest numbers in the UK, the Liberty and Sky News investigation says. Since the freedom of information request totalling 10, two more students are also understood to have been investigated. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here.
The investigation found Cardiff University asked officers for details of staff and students who had been arrested at off-campus protests. Staff then sent police an Instagram post that it believed showed individuals breaching their bail conditions, asking if information was "hopefully useful" and then whether police intended to take "further action" if the post showed students in breach of bail conditions imposed after their arrest at an off-campus protest last June. The police officer responded: "Thanks for this, I'll do a comparison to some custody mugshots."
Cardiff vice-chancellor Wendy Larner told staff last October the university was 'developing a new procedure relating to the right for peaceful and lawful process [sic],' according to internal documents seen by reporters. The university, in its response, denied there was any crackdown on free speech. "We reject the allegation that there is a 'worsening crackdown' on free speech and students' right to lawful protest. We respect our students' right to lawful and peaceful protest whilst remaining conscious of the need to minimise the impact and disruption to others. We are committed to engaging in open and constructive dialogue with our students, and their student representatives, on a variety of issues including Gaza."
Asked if sharing the Instagram post with police was appropriate, as it could have led to the re-arrest of its students, the response from the university was: "The post was a public post made on a public-facing Instagram account. We do occasionally share publicly-available information with the police, and other authorities, to help protect the safety of everyone in our university community. Bail conditions are a matter for an individual to consider and observe." It also said it was "finalising guidance" about protests "so that legal and peaceful protest can continue to be supported at the university and provides clarity on behaviours which are unacceptable".
The investigation found:
In February campus security shared with officers details of two planned protests posted about on student Instagram accounts
In April, a few weeks after Israel's killing of Iran's military commander Mohammed Reza Zahedi, officers asked for the number of Iranian students at Cardiff to assess the number '[they] may need to support/be vulnerable or [if] conflict escalates'
In May, after students set up a protest encampment, staff were apparently anxious about how to respond to pro-Palestinian activism
On May 9 one Cardiff staff member emailed another, saying: 'Lots of issues coming up of non-students/staff speakers turning up and talking in ways which are not within university policies and causing a range of problems"
Staff also sought officers' advice on the use of the contested phrases: "From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free" and the word "intifada". Critics say the former phrase calls for the destruction of Israel while proponents say it is simply a call for Palestinians to have equal rights. The word intifada, meaning to 'shake off' in Arabic, has been used to describe two sustained periods of Palestinian uprisings in the late 1980s and early 2000s.
The investigation also discovered police and security kept tabs on individual protesters via Instagram, noting that a main organiser posted in May that he was "heading to Egypt". Nizar 'Neezo' Dahan, a prominent non-student campaigner from Swansea who at the time was distributing aid to displaced Gazans in Cairo, believes this refers to him. The following month, on June 3, he was arrested at an off-campus demonstration in Cardiff prompting a group of protesters – including students – to rally at Cardiff Bay Police Station for his release. Eighteen people, including Neezo, have since been charged in connection with the protests for a range of alleged offences including public order and obstructing the highway.
Email disclosures show how on June 5, two days after the protest, Cardiff University asked the police to confirm the identities of any students among the arrestees as they wished to "support [any] bail conditions" as well as a foreign staff member so that they could "consider any potential implications for [visa] sponsorship".
Officers did so and provided bail conditions. One of those was to not associate with co-accused and "not to be in a group numbering more than five persons in any public place". Three weeks later university staff then emailed the force with suspicions students were breaching their bail conditions, which could lead to them being rearrested.
The University of South Wales received an email from officers containing a photo of two canvassers, asking: "Are you familiar with them or could assist with information/intelligence that could lead us to identifying them?" However it is not clear how the university replied based on the heavily redacted email exchanges
The University of South Wales disclosed two email exchanges while Cardiff released 144 pages of correspondence, offering a glimpse into what the Network for Police Monitoring (Netpol) has described as a 'cosy' relationship between police and campus security at several institutes. On January 28 South Wales Police emailed four Welsh universities seeking to "improve channels of intelligence-sharing', saying it had already 'set up a channel of dialogue [...] at the University of South Wales, which is proving successful in sharing information and tackling threat, risk, and harm on the university campus". It is, however, unclear how the universities included in the email – Cardiff, Cardiff Met, Swansea, and Trinity St David – replied as none have disclosed their responses to the police's proposition.
Bangor University admitted to holding two meetings with officers – one in May and another in August – to discuss pro-Palestine protest activity on its campus but gave no details about what was discussed. Aberystwyth, Cardiff Met, Trinity St David, and Wrexham – said they held no emails with police. Two – Swansea and Bangor – refused to provide some or all of the requested information citing law enforcement concerns.
The University College Union (UCU) said: "Universities should stand up for free speech and academic freedom yet instead we are now seeing evidence of a worsening crackdown on free speech as universities discipline staff and students for peacefully protesting against genocide. Rather than trying to clamp down on legitimate protest Universities UK, the AUCSO, and university vice-chancellors should be working with staff and students and ensuring institutions divest from weapons manufacturers and others profiteering off the misery Israel is inflicting upon Gaza."
A statement from South Wales Police said: "South Wales Police supports the right for people to make their voices heard through protest providing it is done lawfully. Decisions about how to police protests requires consideration of complex and often competing rights and issues.
"We strive to strike a balance in our policing approach and take measures to ensure that the rights of all parties are respected and upheld. However we will act against anyone who breaks the law whether this is at the time of the offence or retrospectively. South Wales Police is open to dialogue and collaboration with advocacy groups to address any concerns about the policing of protest activity and ensure that policing practices reflect the values of fairness, equality, and justice."