Six leading UK universities have been accused of extreme repression against Palestine solidarity activism, according to a new report released by Social Innovators for Justice (SI4J), a UK-based activist group focused on promoting human rights and challenging corporate and institutional complicity in injustice.
University College London (UCL), Queen Mary University of London, University of Bristol, London School of Economics, Oxford, and Cambridge scored over 75 percent in combined repression and complicity measures.
UCL topped the list with a 100 percent repression score and the highest number of student arrests related to Palestine activism, having called police to arrest 16 students.
Queen Mary University of London (92.5 percent), University of Bristol (86.3 percent), and the London School of Economics (78.9 percent) also ranked among the most repressive institutions.
The ‘UK University Repression League Table 2025’, which ranks 139 universities, evaluates both how universities crack down on staff and student activism supporting Gaza and their financial or research ties to arms companies implicated in military conflicts.
Caitlyn Merry, co-founder of SI4J and Learning Technology Manager at Brunel University, describes the findings as a “systematic attempt to silence anyone who speaks up for Gaza”.
“These aren't just isolated incidents - it’s a culture of fear where staff and students are punished for showing solidarity with victims of state violence,” Merry said in a statement shared by SI4J with TRT World.
Oxford, Cambridge, and Imperial College London also appear near the top of the table, each scoring above 65 percent when repression and complicity are combined.
Data was gathered from FOI requests, student testimonies, protest records, disciplinary reports and investment disclosures.
Each university received a repression score (based on how they’ve treated Palestine activism) and a complicity score (based on their links to companies involved in war, occupation, or human rights abuse), which were then combined into a total score.
Hamza Yusuf, a Palestinian journalist at Declassified, said: “Israel’s genocide in Gaza has benefited from a culture of repression. One arena this has been particularly palpable is in universities. The work of SI4J is incredibly important in laying bare which institutions have used this critical moment in history to stifle those speaking out against the oppressed in favour of the oppressors. A reckoning is coming, and these documents and archives will be indispensable then.”
SI4J calls for urgent public inquiries, ethical investment policies, and national protections for activists within universities.
