On 19 February, Freedom Watch GB set up a debate table on campus by University Place, attempting to record and debate students in order to “challenge some of these indoctrinated students”.
Freedom Watch GB is a self-proclaimed “nationwide movement of young people who refuse to inherit a future of control, big Government and managed decline”, headed by Montgomery Toms.
Earlier this month, Toms was referred to as ‘The British Charlie Kirk’ in the title of his appearance on Peter McCormack’s podcast.
Charlie Kirk was a Conservative influencer and the founder of hard-right organisation ‘Turning Point USA’. Kirk was known for his similar approach of debating students on university campuses. He was fatally shot while debating students at Utah Valley University on 10 September 2025.
The Freedom Watch presence was composed of Toms behind a desk, debating, and two associates who assisted in filming. By the desk were banners with provocative phrases, such as ‘Hate speech is free speech’, and ‘Transgender is a mental illness’.
Toms had set up on campus by around 10.00-11.00am, and by midday, a large number of students and members of the public had gathered by his desk. At this point, a protest formed, and students began to block Toms’ cameras, shouting and chanting for him and his team to leave.
By 12.30pm, police had arrived and spoken to Toms. While it was unclear what Toms was told, he and his associates began to pack up over the next 30 minutes. Freedom Watch have claimed Toms was told he had committed a “public order offence”, though it is unclear if this occurred while he was in Liverpool or Manchester.
In an interview with The Mancunion, a protesting student described the group as “absolutely Nazis, they’re not welcome”. They argued that the group were “[coming] to our campus to cause a fuss, to make it seem like these are reasonable topics to debate” and described Freedom Watch’s strategy as “looking for a reaction”.
Freedom Watch’s presence on campus came ahead of a Britain First ‘remigration’ march in Manchester City Centre on 21 February, with multiple counter-protests also present.
A representative from GMP clarified that:
“No arrests were made, no threats of arrest were made. The protestors were asked to move and they did”.
A spokesperson from The University of Manchester said:
“On 19 February, we were made aware of an unauthorised event on University property. Campus Support and Security attended and moved the event to the public street. Following an assessment of the situation, Campus Support and Security called the police who worked to ensure a safe conclusion”.
