Letters: Police and the stifling of legitimate protest

Your front-page story that the police spied on the political routines of college students at Cambridge University (Undercover police target college students, 15 November) fits in with the way the police have prosecuted students protesting in excess of the last handful of years. Following the 2010 demonstrations against tuition costs, counter terrorism police have been utilized to method cautions in the police station. The police went on to charge far more than 60 college students of good character with violent disorder, the 2nd most significant public purchase charge, which carries with it an almost inevitable prison sentence on conviction. Fortunately, Alfie Meadows’s acquittal earlier this yr and the acquittal of the huge vast majority of individuals who went to trial, have gone some way to undermine the use of extreme charging by the police and prosecution.
Matt Foot
Solicitor, Birnberg Peirce &amp Partners

• We the undersigned unreservedly condemn the arrest of University of London union president, Michael Chessum, for allegedly organising a demonstration apparently contrary to the Public Purchase Act (G2, 19 November). This arrest coincides with the revelations that Cambridge police have been attempting to pay out students to inform on fellow pupil “activists”, and follows the arrest of a pupil activist in the 3Cosas campaign in the ULU developing itself. We think it is time to reiterate the fundamental place that universities are centres of studying and we condemn the growing part of the police on university campuses to stifle genuine protest.
All names in a personalized capability
Molly Cooper Unison Better London women’s rep support group executive Max Watson Unison NEC and London Met Uni Unison branch secretary, Sandy Nicoll SOAS Unison branch secretary and London region standard seat, Unison greater schooling service group executive, Simon Deville Branch secretary, Birkbeck Unison, Sean Wallis President, University School London UCU, Secretary London HE UCU, UCU NEC, Louise Lambe Unison HE member, Yassin Benserghin UCL Unison vice-chair, Gyta Nicola Branch secretary IOE Unison, Des Freedman Secretary, Goldsmiths UCU, Ulrike Sommer UCU departmental rep for the Institute of Archaeology, Tom Hickey Chair, UCU co-ordinating committee, David Hardman London Met UCU membership secretary, Jacqueline Sheehan Branch chair UCL Unison, Dr Laurie Stras Southampton University UCU exec committee member, Marian Mayer Vice chair BU UCU, Dr John Fry Department of physics, University of Liverpool, Mark Campbell London Met UCU (chair), UCU NEC, Daragh O’Reilly Manager, marketing and cultural industries division, Management College, University of Sheffield, Sophie Hope UCU Birkbeck branch secretary, Mike Lammiman VP University of Hull UCU, Dr Karen F Evans Senior lecturer, division of sociology, social policy and criminology, University of Liverpool, John Baxter UCU co-ordinating committee member, Sheffield School, Mark O’Brien Membership secretary, University of Liverpool UCU, Marian Mayer Vice-chair, BU UCU, Javed Khanzada Unison HE member, Lesley McGorrigan UCU, NEC member and Yorkshire and the Humber regional secretary, Ciara Doyle UCU, Kath Owen Yorkshire &amp Humberside Unison service group executive, Dr James Chiriyankandath Senior research fellow, Institute of Commonwealth Research, College of Innovative Research, University of London, Dr Geoff Williams UCL UCU Instant past (joint) president, Dr Andy Higginbottom Principal lecturer, worldwide politics and human rights, Kevin Moloney, Cliff Snaith UCU London Met secretary &amp UCU London region secretary, Louis Bayman Division of movie scientific studies, Oxford Brookes University, Richard McEwan UCU NEC, Dr Sue McPherson Sheffield Hallam University UCU branch officer, Pauline Croft Professor of early modern day background, Royal Holloway, University of London, Professor John Newsinger, Andy Coles UCU research coach at University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University, Graham Mustin Joint branch secretary, Barnsley University UCU, Dr Julie Hearn Department of politics, philosophy and religion, Lancaster University, Dr Jennifer Fraser UCU Birkbeck branch, joint president, Linda Milbourne Birkbeck UCU, Dr Rebecca Gumbrell-McCormick Senior lecturer, department of management, Leo Zeilig, Hewal Sores UCU equality officer, Bradford College, Dr Mark Abel UCU University of Brighton, Allister Mactaggart UCU branch chair, Chesterfield University, Laura Miles Chair, Yorkshire and Humberside regional council UCU and UCU NEC, Anthony Leaker Lecturer in humanities, University of Brighton, Matthew Raine Birmingham University Unison branch secretary, West Midlands region general seat, Unison increased training services group executive, Dr Chris Cocking Senior lecturer, Dr Saladin Meckled-Garcia Vice-president, UCL UCU, David Graeber, Jonathan Gilhooly Lecturer, Brighton University, Professor David Oswell Head of division, division of sociology, Goldsmiths, University of London, Alex Colas Birkbeck UCU, Professor Raphael Salkie College of humanities, University of Brighton, Louise Purbrick UCU member, University of Brighton, Professor Gargi Bhattacharyya UEL, Alberto Toscano Department of sociology, Goldsmiths, Patrick Connellan Branch secretary, Nottingham Trent UCU, Helena Reckitt Senior lecturer in curating, department of artwork, Goldsmiths, University of London, Kalbir Shukra Goldsmiths UCU

Letters: Police and the stifling of legitimate protest