Arrests made following protests at Birmingham University
Thirteen people were arrested on Wednesday January 29 following a student-led occupation of Birmingham University buildings.
The occupation, organised by Defend Education Birmingham, was in protest against privatisation of student fees and the below living-wage paid to some Birmingham University staff.
The police were called onto campus at around 5pm.
A university spokesperson stated, “The actions of Defend Education Birmingham, a group which is not affiliated to the Guild of Students or in any way representative of the student body, included defacing buildings and property.
“Given the serious nature of their actions, the University had no choice but to ask the police for assistance in restoring order and protecting students, staff and university property.”
Around 150 students occupied the University’s Great Hall after a national meeting discussing the future of the UK student movement.
When these protestors attempted to leave the building, they describe themselves as have being ‘kettled’ in by the police and University security.
‘Kettling’, or ‘corralling,’ refers to the containment of crowds, often during demonstrations, in a limited space defined by a barrier of police or military figures.
The Defend Education Birmingham website records that protestors and members of the press were ‘kettled’ for between two and four hours in the rain; witnesses report that one student was hospitalised overnight.
Callum Cant, a second year student at the University of Warwick attended the protest, and observed, “They say it wasn’t a kettle, but we were trapped in a courtyard…. It was a kettle.
“When I left I had to go through a tunnel packed with probably 10-20 police officers and university security guards. There I was told to give my details to assist in a criminal investigation or I would be arrested.”
Though a contended topic, ‘kettling’ is not an illegal tactic in the UK. However, as of 18th June 2012, a High Court ruling declared; “It was not lawful for the police to maintain the containment for the purposes of obtaining identification, whether by questioning or by filming. It follows that it was not lawful to require identification to be given and submission to filming as the price for release.”
Birmingham Police Superintendent Lee Kendrick said he “strongly refuted any suggestions of containing or ‘kettling’ a lawful protest.”
On Friday, Defend Education Birmingham’s facebook page announced that the arrested protestors had been released on bail.
The occupations at Birmingham University take place at a time when a number of university-based protests are occurring around the country, with Warwick students remembering the lecturer’s strike that took place at the end of January, and a similar strike planned for February 10th.
Callum maintains that “Yeah, I will continue protesting. The police and university management adopt these tactics because they’re scared. Rather than negotiating with us or engaging students they just increase the repression. We can’t be scared of that—when they escalate their opposition, it’s a great sign that we’re finally getting somewhere.”
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