Sixteen arrests after pro-Palestinian protesters stage Oxford University sit-in

Arrests have been made after a sit-in protest at one of Oxford University’s office buildings.

Thames Valley Police said 16 people were arrested on Thursday on suspicion of aggravated trespass, including one person who was also arrested on suspicion of common assault.

The force said it came after officers, who were alerted to reports that protesters had gained access to a private office within one of the buildings, attended Wellington Square at Oxford University, on Thursday at around 8am.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Oxford Action for Palestine (OA4P) later claimed that Oxford students were arrested during “a peaceful sit in at admin offices” and the building was placed in lockdown.

Images posted online show people sitting on the ground in front of a police van and a heavy presence of uniformed officers in front of the building faced with large crowds.

A police spokesman said: “In addition to these arrests we dealt with protesters in the immediate vicinity of Wellington Square.

“Elements of this protest sought to obstruct the removal of the persons arrested.

“These protests have been peaceful and no arrests were made.

“We are still managing a small peaceful protest in the city.

“We are aware of footage circulating on social media, which show our officers using lawful, proportionate and necessary action in the difficult circumstances they faced.”

In a statement, OA4P said: “Today, Oxford students staged a peaceful sit-in to demand that the university meet with us after two weeks of non-response.

“Students walked into the Wellington Square Office building complex this morning at 8am and faced no confrontation.

“After arriving in the vice chancellor’s office, they initiated the sit-in.

“The intentions were clear: students would stay in the building until the administration agreed to meet for negotiations.”

They said that instead the building was placed in lockdown and arrests were made.

It comes as student encampments against the war in Gaza have been set up in recent weeks at more than a dozen universities in the UK, including Cambridge and Oxford.

In a statement, Oxford University said that OA4P had “escalated their protest actions from mainly peaceful to direct action tactics”.

It said that Thursday’s protest had caused “significant distress for members of reception staff and the wider staff community”.

They said it was not a peaceful sit-in, “but a violent action that included forcibly overpowering the receptionist, and then entry into the vice-chancellor’s office while she was on a call, shouting and starting to barricade the doors”.

The Oxford University statement added: “It is clear that the actions of some of the protesters involved in the encampment have created a deeply intimidating environment for many members of our community, including our Jewish students and staff and members of the local Jewish community.

“It is imperative that the university feels safe for all our members, and the actions of some of the protesters have undermined those foundational principles of dignity, care and respect which we must all maintain.”

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