King’s College London hired private security firm to spy on pro-Palestine student campaign

King’s College London enlisted Horus Security Consultancy Ltd, a private firm staffed by ex-military intelligence personnel, to gather intelligence on a campus campaign seeking the reinstatement of Usama Ghanem, a 22-year-old student suspended last year on misconduct charges and whose visa sponsorship was withdrawn. Documents obtained through a subject-access request show Horus relayed information about protest posters, schedules, venues and attendance figures, as well as calls for the university to divest from arms and tech firms implicated in the Gaza war.

The joint Al one outlet and Liberty Investigates investigation revealed that twelve British universities, including KCL, paid Horus a total of £443,943 from early 2022 to early 2025 for monitoring pro-Palestine activism. Following a recent review, KCL announced that Ghanem’s suspension was lifted and he is re-enrolled for the 2026/27 academic year, though he remains subject to limits on participating in open days, using loudspeakers and protesting outside approved zones.

The university maintains that Horus only provided publicly available one outlet used for horizon-scanning to ensure safety and legal compliance. Critics, including UN rapporteur Gina Romero, have condemned the practice as a troubling weaponisation of disciplinary mechanisms.