Crime & Safety
Oxford University issues comment on student ‘spying’
A spokesperson for the university said the reports are “inaccurate” while acknowledging that external safety consultants are on the payroll.
The joint probe by Al Jazeera English and Liberty Investigates found that intelligence firm Horus, which is in St Aldate’s in Oxford, has been paid at least £440,000 by universities since 2022.
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These universities allegedly include Oxford, Imperial College London and the University of Leicester.
The activity is not suggested as being illegal.
Central to the allegations is Horus’ Insight tool which provides clients with open-source intelligence reports compiled using a range of internet sources.
The business was set up within Oxford’s security team by former Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Whiteley in the early noughties and has since been integrating artificial intelligence into its work.
According to the Al Jazeera report, this raises ethical questions and could result in a disproportionate amount of data being collected.
Among the specific examples cited of students monitored is Lizzie Hobbs who took part in a month-long protest at the London School of Economics.
One of her social media posts was allegedly flagged by Horus to the London university.
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Other examples include the University of Bristol requesting a bespoke alert service encompassing anything related to student protest in the city.
Responding to the allegations, an Oxford University spokesperson said: “Allegations of surveillance are inaccurate.
“External security consultants are used solely to carry out safety risk assessments for public events and known protests—not to monitor individuals or political activity.”
Earlier this month and last, there were widespread issues across the UK, including Oxfordshire, as drivers faced empty pumps at forecourts amid the conflict in the Middle East.
Prices also soared before eventually falling, triggered by the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a temporary truce between the United States and Iran.
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Now, RAC head of policy Simon Williams has warned drivers that the price of petrol has become the most expensive since the conflict began.
“The sudden spike in the price of crude oil due to the latest tensions in the Middle East is likely to be a setback for drivers,” he said.
“While the price of unleaded at the pumps has fallen by more than a penny since peaking on 15 April at 158.31p, our analysis of wholesale costs shows petrol is now more expensive for retailers to buy than at any time since the war began.
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“However, diesel, which has come down by 3p a litre, is currently well below its highest wholesale price since the start of the conflict, so should fall further.
“The switch round in wholesale cost trends is partly due to the time of year, as the market for petrol tends to increase in the spring as people in the US begin to drive more, whereas the price of diesel often reduces as Western Europe’s use of heating oil, which is made from the same part of the barrel, lessens as the temperature warms up.”
This comes after reports that Tesco in Banbury was out of fuel at the end of last month, while others said there was no diesel at several other petrol stations in Oxfordshire.
The fire service shared an update at around 10am on Thursday, April 30, about the “smoking” recycling centre fire that is being moved from Noke to the Ewelme area in the south of the county.
It is being escorted by several fire engines and at the team’s base it will be safely dealt with.
A spokesperson for Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “We’re currently dealing with a recycling centre lorry that is smoking and is being moved from Noke to the Ewelme area in South Oxfordshire.
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“Fire engines are escorting the vehicle back to the depot, where crews will safely deal with the issue.”
The service added that there is no need for alarm in the local area but that if members of the public see the lorry being moved, they are advised to provide crews with space.
“There’s no need to be alarmed,” said the spokesperson, “but if you see the lorry and fire engines on the road, please: slow down, close your vehicle windows, give our crews plenty of space”.
They added: “Thank you for your cooperation while we resolve this safely.”
A reason for the lorry fire is not known.
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