Students on the Oxford Union’s governing body have been advised that they could face “liability, jointly, and severally” amid an ongoing counter-terrorism investigation, according to minutes from several meetings viewed exclusively by Cherwell. Police have been conducting enquiries since the Union’s hosting of a debate titled ‘This house believes that Israel is an apartheid state responsible for genocide’ last term.
The Standing Committee, the Union’s governing body, is made up entirely of Oxford University students elected by members. According to minutes from several behind closed doors meetings in early December, the Committee was informed that legal advice had been sought that had concluded “members of the Standing Committee (as of today) would be liable, jointly, and severally, at the point at which an investigation takes place.”
In these meetings, the President stressed that any members of the Standing Committee implicated in an investigation would be supported by the Union. Minutes also reveal that the President said members “should exercise their right to remain silent if approached by the police”. The same advice was offered for approaches by the press.
During the debate which prompted the investigation, a guest speaker in support of the motion, Miko Peled, described the terrorist attack carried out by Hamas on Israel on 7th October 2023 as an act of “heroism”. Opposition speakers at the time suggested this could be considered a criminal offence because it supported a proscribed terrorist group.
Counter Terrorism Policing South East told Cherwell they are “aware of reports of a person expressing support for a proscribed organisation, namely Hamas, at the Oxford Union on Thursday 28th November and enquiries are ongoing”.
The event led to protests and complaints from both pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian activists. It also saw members and guest speakers removed from the chamber amid the tense atmosphere.
One current member of Standing Committee, speaking anonymously, told Cherwell: “I don’t think members of Standing Committee are fully aware of the level of liability they face because of the negligence of others.”
The risk of criminal liability comes at least in part from the content of some speeches that were previously uploaded to the Union’s YouTube channel, though it is unclear which specific speech has prompted the investigation. In early December, the Union deleted and re-uploaded videos from the debate in a partially edited form, saying in a statement at the time that they were “mindful of potential legal concerns”.
This prompted criticism from both sides, with Susan Abulhawa, an opposition guest speaker, claiming on X, that the Union had “agreed in writing” that her speech should “not be altered in any way” and urged the Union to “reverse this ignominious decision”. Minutes from a separate meeting state that: “We [the Union] have received notice from one of the speakers to sue us. We have informed our insurers but nothing at this time is that concerning.”
The Union did not respond to requests for comment.
