Muslim students could sue UCL for releasing details

University College London could face legal action after the personal details of nearly a thousand Muslim students were handed over to police.

Met police approached the UCL Islamic Society in January for membership details but were refused.

The student union subsequently provided names and email addresses of members of the UCL Islamic Society and Royal Free and UCL Medical Islamic Society between September 2005 and June last year.

The police approached the university for telephone numbers and home addresses, which were provided.

Police have visited the homes of more than 50 students since the names were handed over and students fear their details could be passed on to American intelligence authorities.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who attempted to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day, studied engineering at UCL and was president of the Islamic Society in 2006-07.

Mojeed Adams-Mogaji, current president, said: "Neither me nor other members of the Islamic society were happy with the police having their data."

Qasim Rafiq, a former UCL Islamic Society president who knew Abdulmutallab and is federation spokesman, said they were taking legal advice.

The university and the student union were unavailable for comment.