TWELVE British universities paid a private firm run by former military intelligence officials to “spy” on student protesters and academics, including those who have expressed solidarity with Palestine, according to a report published by Al Jazeera.
The report says that a joint investigation by Al Jazeera English and Liberty Investigates has uncovered evidence that Horus Security Consultancy Limited trawled through student social media feeds and conducted secret counter-terror threat assessments on behalf of some of Britain’s most elite institutions.
Horus, which describes itself as a “leading intelligence” firm, has been paid at least £440,000 by universities since 2022.
Among those monitored were a Palestinian academic invited to give a guest lecture at Manchester Metropolitan University and a pro-Gaza PhD student at the London School of Economics, according to internal documents.
At least £440,000 spent to monitor social media accounts, run background checks on guest speaker
In October 2024, the University of Bristol provided the firm with a list of student protest groups, including pro-Palestinian and animal rights activists, it wished to receive alerts about, an internal varsity email suggests.
In total, 12 varsities paid the firm to monitor protests. Others include the University of Oxford, Imperial College London, University College London (UCL), King’s College London (KCL), the University of Sheffield, the University of Leicester, the University of Nottingham and Cardiff Metropolitan University.There is no suggestion that this activity is illegal.
All the institutions named in the article were approached for comment by Al Jazeera and Liberty Investigates.
The University of Oxford, UCL, KCL, the University of Leicester and the University of Nottingham did not respond to requests for comment.
The University of Sheffield said it used external services to “horizon scan” for issues which may affect the university, such as large-scale upcoming protests, and that it was “incorrect” to suggest this was intended to discourage activism.
Imperial College London denied that the services it pays Horus for constitute the surveillance of students.
Al Jazeera also repeatedly approached Horus for comment, without success.
Published in Dawn, April 21st, 2026
