King’s College London (KCL) hosted the London Defence Conference on Strand Campus on 8 and 9 May 2025. Multiple videos captured acts of police aggression against demonstrators, who were primarily protesting the UK Government’s support for Israel’s War in Gaza.
KCL Stands 4 Justice (S4J) posted a video on their Instagram page depicting security staff and Metropolitan Police officers grabbing and dragging student protestors.
In one video, an officer is seen standing over a student on the ground and locking their neck between his feet. The student complained, “You are hurting my head… you are squeezing my head.” The officer looked down at the student and replied, “You are hurting my foot.”
One of the students in this video told Roar:
King’s security and the Metropolitan Police were extremely hostile to any semblance of protest. King’s security’s behaviour included attempts to tackle protestors and throw us on the floor. While the Metropolitan Police were much more violent in their response, taking actions such as strangling students with their feet and dragging them on the floor. Their actions come as no surprise as their behaviour simply replicated the requests of the university for removing students.
Student protestor’s comment to Roar, 9 May
In other videos, security staff and officers grabbed protestors by their upper bodies and arms or attempted to pull them off the ground by their arms and legs. At one point, students linked arms for stability while they were being pulled and pushed.
On the second day of the Conference, Roar acquired further footage of a police officer pushing a young woman.
Roar currently understands that these students were engaged in peaceful protest. Another student who experienced force at the protest expressed:
Quite frankly, the behaviour of the police and security was nothing new, continued repression of student voice, continued double standards, the “right to protest” was denied when it does not fit the settler colonial narrative, we stood tall and lay firm for the people of Gaza and the police displayed no good will nor respect to our peaceful protest, by laying their hands on the very students that pay tuition fees to attend KCL.
Student protestor’s comment to Roar, 9 May
Second Year of Protest Against LDC
The London Defence Conference is a geopolitical conference hosted annually at Bush House, King’s College London. The conference was founded following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Its theme for 2025 was ‘Alliances:’
At the Conference yesterday, PM Keir Starmer committed the UK to the “largest sustained increase” in British defence spending since the Cold War.
On the increased investment in defence, he asserted:
“Mark my words the British defence industry will be the engine of national renewal.”
KCL S4J denounced the Conference, which was sponsored by Palantir Technologies and hosted BAE Systems. Both entities supply military technology to the Israeli Ministry of Defence and weapons used in conflicts in Palestine, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Myanmar. In a statement, ‘KCL Hosts War Profiteers Again’, KCL S4J condemned KCL as enablers of genocide.
KCL S4J stated:
“By hosting the London Defence Conference, it [KCL] offers a platform for war criminals, arms dealers, and tech profiteers fuelling the ongoing genocide in Gaza.”
Last year, similar protests to ‘SHUT DOWN THE LONDON DEFENCE CONFERENCE’ were held. Over the University’s investment in these companies, they denounced Vice-Chancellor Shitij Kapur and then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as “war criminals.”
Referencing the destruction of all universities in Gaza, described as scholasticide by United Nations experts, KCL S4J also stated:
“Educational institutions must be free of violence, and their financial and political stability cannot be contingent on the destruction of educational spaces elsewhere.”
A spokesperson for KCL told Roar:
“Freedom of speech for students and staff is a fundamental right, and we support the right to protest. However, our priority must be the safety of our students and staff, and the blocking of some entrances and exits is not permissible within our clear guidelines as it poses a direct risk to safety. As the protest took place on a public thoroughfare, staff worked with the police to maintain safe access for the students, staff and the public. If students or staff have a complaint to raise, they should submit it to Report and Support so it can be investigated in line with our robust policies and procedures.”
The Metropolitan Police did not respond to a request for comment.
If you witnessed or experienced any incidents of harassment at the LDC protest, please get in touch with us on Instagram or email at [email protected].
