Communist student arrested at UCL Palestine protest over alleged ‘intifada’ chants

A student organiser linked to the Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP) was arrested by Metropolitan police officers during a pro-Palestinian protest at University College (UCL) earlier today, with police citing alleged chants referencing “intifada”.

The protest was organised by the UCL Coalition for Palestine as part of a national student day of action calling on universities to sever ties with defence companies connected to Israel, including BAE Systems.

In a statement issued after the arrest, the Metropolitan Police said: “Officers deployed at this protest arrested a man on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence in relation to the alleged chanting of slogans involving calls for intifada. We’re reviewing other available footage to identify anyone else involved.”

The RCP said the individual arrested was a senior student organiser who had been addressing the crowd shortly before being detained. Supporters claimed the arrest followed a complaint made to officers present at the protest. No charges had been announced by Wednesday evening.

A UCL spokesperson said: “A demonstration took place today at UCL as part of a nationwide ‘Student Day of Action on Palestine’, during which a student was detained by police for using the term ‘intifada’.

“Our ongoing priority is to keep all of our staff and students safe on campus and we are urgently investigating this incident, and will take any action, as necessary. Peaceful protest is protected and supported at UCL, but protest that involves violent or discriminatory language will not be tolerated.

“All forms of antisemitism are utterly abhorrent and have absolutely no place at UCL. We remain firmly committed to eradicating it from our campus and have communicated this consistently to our community through proactive messaging and targeted actions.

“Freedom of speech and academic freedom are vital to university life, but they can never be used as a shield for hatred. When incidents occur, or are reported to us, we have taken – and will continue to take – swift and decisive action to address them.”

The arrest prompted an emergency protest outside Charing Cross Police Station later the same day, organised by RCP supporters, who accused authorities of repressing pro-Palestinian activism.

The Metropolitan Police said enquiries are ongoing.