Students occupy university offices over job cuts

The protestors have occupied administration offices on the top floor of the Cockcroft Building

Students have occupied offices at the University of Brighton in protest at plans to cut lecturers' jobs.

The group have taken over offices on the eighth floor of the Cockcroft Building, on the Moulsecoomb Campus.

A statement from the University of Brighton Solidarity Group posted on Instagram said it is protesting plans to make lecturers and other staff redundant.

Brighton University has declined to comment on the situation, but has confirmed that the vice-chancellor's office has been occupied.

A man, who would only identify himself as Neil, said the action was undertaken by "an autonomous group that we're supporting".

He said: "They are willing and ready to stay in there until their demands are met.

"Their demands are very simple, that there is to be an end to these redundancies and the vice-chancellor is to find alternative ways to meet this funding hole that they've created through financial mismanagement."

He said the protesters fear their studies could be affected if the job losses go ahead.

The university is currently consulting with staff and unions on plans to shed 110 posts, which it says it hopes to achieve mostly through voluntary redundancy.

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