Three colleges at the University of Cambridge have spent over £10,000 collectively in response to pro-Palestine encampments in Easter term, Freedom of Information Requests can reveal.

Trinity College, St John’s College, and Magdalene College all experienced a wave of encampments on their grounds in late May and June, before they were each granted High Court injunctions against protesters.

Internal estimates by Trinity College, which experienced an encampment on its grounds from the 30th of May until the 2nd of June, put the total expenditure in response to the protest at £3,686.

This included £1,440 in staff overtime and additional pay, £480 in security and policing, £240 in facilities services, and £27.98 in cleaning materials. Though not itemised, this figure also includes items such as tarpaulin and fencing.

St John’s College, where an encampment was based from the 2nd of June until the 3rd of June, spent £371.77 on fencing from a company by the name of Speedy Hire. 

Of this expenditure, £242.76 took place while the encampment was present, with another £129.01 being spent after it had been evicted.

Both Trinity and John’s declined to provide information regarding how much money had been spent on legal fees.

However, documents seen by Varsity show that their respective court fees incurred by seeking an injunction against protesters were £545. It is unclear how much Magdalene’s cost.

King’s Council Kester Lees of Falcon Chambers represented the two Colleges, instructed by law firm Bevan Brittan LLP.

The two Colleges have had their injunctions against protesters on their land extended until either the 30th of June 2026, or until the end of the 2026 examination period.

Magdalene, where a third encampment was based from the 21st of June until the 24th, spent £5603.96 on security and policing costs.

In total, these fees amounted to over £10,751.73 across the Colleges, including court fees.

King’s College, where Cambridge’s first encampment took place last year, told Varsity that it does not hold the information requested regarding its expenditure in response to the protesters.

Freedom of information requests have also revealed the specific costs incurred by the University in response to the Greenwich House and Senate House Yard occupations, which took place at the end of last year.

The University spent £230,000 on security, legal, and cleaning costs. Costs incurred included £63,000 on security, £25,000 on the removal of paint and fake oil from the Old Schools and Senate House, and a £5,800 electronic security sweep of Greenwich House.

The University was last week granted a 12-month injunction extension, prohibiting protesters from entering or occupying several University-owned sites, including Senate House Yard, the Old Schools, Greenwich House, and Chestnut Tree Lawn.