An Al Jazeera investigation has revealed that twelve British universities paid a firm led by former military intelligence officials to monitor pro-Palestine student protesters and academics, using social media intelligence reports to track campus activism.
The revelation came following a joint investigation by Al Jazeera’s English department and Liberty Investigates, uncovering evidence that a company named “Horus Consultancy Limited” tracked and monitored social media feeds of students and academics at some of the UK’s most prestigious universities.
The firm carried out secret counter-terror threat assessments on behalf of the elite universities.
Horus, which described itself as a “leading intelligence” firm, had been paid close to half a million pounds (£440,000) by the twelve universities since 2022.
The investigation has revealed that among those monitored was a Palestinian academic who was personally invited to give a guest lecture at Manchester Metropolitan University and a pro-Gaza PhD student at the London School of Economics (LSE).
In October 2024, a year after the Gaza genocide had begun, the University of Bristol provided the intelligence firm with a list of student protest groups, directing them to keep intelligence tabs on them.
The university wished to receive alerts about the groups, an internal university email suggests.
Subscribe to our newsletter and stay updated on the latest news and updates from around the Muslim world!
Elite British universities identified
In total, 12 universities had paid the firm to monitor pro-Palestine campus activity. Some of the universities were amongst the most elite in the UK, such as the University of Oxford, 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.
Under UK law, there is nothing to suggest that such intelligence activities are illegal.
The revelations have come to light after Al Jazeera and Liberty Investigates submitted freedom of information (FOI) requests to over 150 universities across the UK.
All 12 of the universities were asked to comment on the findings, with the University of Oxford, UCL, KCL, the University of Leicester and the University of Nottingham not responding or offering comments.
The University of Sheffield said it used the intelligence firm to “horizon scan” for issues which may affect the university, such as large protests, and that it was “incorrect” to suggest this was intended to discourage activism.
The university also clarified that it did not share student data with Horus or direct them to monitor individuals, stating that its priority was to maintain a safe environment while supporting the right to protest.
Imperial College London denied that the services they paid for constitute surveillance of students.
Rather, they said they used Horus to “help identify potential security risks to its community, which might include protest activity within the vicinity of its campuses. All this information is drawn from the public domain”.
Concerns expressed over intelligence activities
Horus was founded in 2006 as part of the University of Oxford under the security team. Former Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Whiteley, who has a “23-year career running security, intelligence and counter-intelligence operations all over the world”, is one of the senior leaders according to the company’s website.
The company offered a service to the universities packaged under the label “Insight”, where clients are provided with open-source intelligence reports compiled using a tool it has developed to “harvest a vast range of sources on the internet”.
Gina Romero, the UN Special Rapporteur for freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, said: “The use of AI to harvest and analyse student data under the guise of open-source intelligence raises profound legal concerns.”
Lizzie Hobbs, a PhD student who took part in LSE’s month-long encampment in the summer of 2024, was one of those whose social media posts were reported to the university by Horus.
According to the investigation, her posts were just one of thousands from students which were compiled into daily “encampment updates” and sold to the universities for £900 a month.
Hobbs said: “We knew surveillance was happening by the university, but it is shocking to see how systematised it is”.
Hobbs added that it was “deeply scary” to see how far and how much money universities were “willing to invest” for such purposes.
