Students banned from camping in LSE atrium

The London School of Economics (LSE) has been granted a court order indefinitely barring camps in one of its buildings after students slept in an atrium for more than a month in support of Palestine.

Several students pitched up on the ground floor of the Marshall Building in central London on 14 May.

They vowed to remain there until LSE met a series of demands.

LSE began legal action this month, with a judge granting it an interim possession order on 14 June.

That meant the activists had to leave within 24 hours of the order being served.

The students left on 17 June, minutes before the deadline.

At a hearing at Central London County Court on Friday, District Judge Morayo Fagborun-Bennett granted a possession order, meaning no encampments can be set up at the same location indefinitely.

Olivia Davies, for LSE, said: "The defendants don't dispute the claimant's entitlement."

She continued: "They were served with an interim possession order and they vacated in accordance with it. There have been no breaches of the interim order."

Daniel Grutters, representing three students, said: "Those instructing me had only opposed the making of the interim possession order.

"Since that was made, we indicated that we would not defend the possession order."

The camp was set up after the release of the Assets in Apartheid report by the LSE Students' Union's Palestine Society.

The report alleged LSE has invested £89m in 137 companies involved in the conflict in Gaza, fossil fuels, the arms industry or nuclear weapons production.

Dozens of students slept in the Marshall Building for more than a month and said they would remain there until LSE took several steps, including democratisation of the financial decision-making process.