Read the full story by @LInvestigates and The Herald 👇.

Katie Wood, president of the SPS and organiser of the bake sale, said the threat of forced removal left students feeling “targeted and uncomfortable”. The university says it is carrying out an investigation and declined to comment further while it is ongoing.

Emails obtained by FOI show the university also tried to ban the Palestinian flag at a second fundraiser, hosted by @ucu 10 days later, to “avoid a similar issue”. The flag was ultimately allowed after a UCU member questioned whether banning it would be discriminatory.

Safeguarding staff allegedly told students the Palestinian flag and leaflets referencing "genocide" breached a ban on “political messaging” and had prompted “numerous complaints”, including one calling on staff to be removed.

The Society of Progressive Students at Heriot-Watt University lodged a formal complaint on Wednesday claiming staff made them remove the materials from the stall of their fundraiser for a Palestinian charity in January this year.

EXCLUSIVE. A UK university is investigating claims staff told students they’d be “removed by force” if they didn’t take down a Palestinian flag and leaflets at a charity bake sale. Our latest with @heraldscotland .

@ucu 💬Katie Wood, a HWU student and president of the Society for Progressive Students, told The Herald she was “disappointed and ashamed” at the university’s response. Read the full report 👇.

The University and College Union (@ucu) claimed the emails amounted to evidence HWU was “spying on its own students” and said the revelations were a "scandal which plumbs new depths”.

Despite not challenging the request at the time, HWU has since said its staff had no access to student chats and did not conduct improper surveillance.

Raytheon UK told HWU it sometimes gets “unwanted attention” from protesters, including students. The company asked the university to “monitor university chat groups” for signs of planned protests, among other measures. University security staff replied: “Not a problem.”.

Emails obtained by @LInvestigates and The Herald show Heriot-Watt University agreed to a list of security measures requested by Raytheon UK ahead of a February careers fair. Raytheon makes components for F-35 fighter jets used to bomb Gaza, according to @CAATuk.

EXCLUSIVE. A Scottish university agreed to “monitor” its own students for a weapons firm that supplies the Israeli military — sparking a free speech row. Our latest with @heraldscotland .

RT @libertyhq: NEW from @LInvestigates and @heraldscotland:. Scottish university agreed to monitor students for arms company..

RT @BillBain23: Tomorrow’s Herald on Sunday front page. #tomorrowspaperstoday

Find out which other universities attended the webinar by reading the full story 👇.

💬@Ginitastar, the UN special rapporteur for freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, called the move a “flagrant violation of international human rights law”.

Lawyers who opposed the order say it is so broad it could potentially even cover bake sales - though Cardiff Uni disputes this. Shakespeare Martineau said this interpretation was "inaccurate" and insisted the order relates only to "unlawful encampments".

Documents show Shakespeare Martineau LLP, who helped Cardiff Uni obtain a year-long anti-protest injunction, promoted this controversial type of order to other unis in a webinar last October. It follows a dispute between students and the university over a pro-Gaza encampment.

REVEALED. A law firm that helped a UK university obtain a year-long ban on unauthorised protests, which could lead to students being jailed, has quietly coached others on how to take similar legal action. Our latest with @guardian .

@DavidDavisMP @ChiOnwurah @AmnestyTech @DuncanEMcCann @GoodLawProject Read our full EXCLUSIVE investigation for more details about Palantir’s work on plans for a new national surveillance network. Click the link below 👇.