ARTS students cried foul yesterday as they were dragged into court to defend the right to occupy in protest over cuts to courses and services.

University of the Arts London (UAL) anti-cuts campaigners faced an emergency hearing at the High Court after management decided to take out a possession order for an occupied campus building.

Activists were able to delay the final hearing by a day, giving themselves a few precious hours to collectively decide what to do next.

UAL students union president Shelly Asquith told the Star: “The university didn’t consult the students’ union at all over the cuts and redundancies.

“And then, when we take the only action left at our disposal, protest, they take to the courts and try to ban us.”

Ms Asquith warned that the impending injunctions were a way to supress dissent at the university.

She added: “This injunction will mean the majority of our current elected sabbatical team will be banned from occupying spaces at UAL, as well as many of our elected officers for 2015-16.

“If this isn’t an affront on student democracy and our right to resist I don’t know what is.”