University of Manchester vice-chancellor, Dame Nancy Rothwell, has apologised to a student who says he was racially profiled by security guards.
Student Zach Adan, 19, was stopped by security guards as he returned to his halls of residence earlier this week.
Footage was quickly posted online showing Mr Adan being held against a wall by the two guards during the incident last week.
Professor Rothwell told BBC Newsnight on Thursday that she has written to Mr Adan to apologise.
“I was very, very concerned by it,” she told the programme.
“I have apologised to the student for the distress he felt.
“I immediately suspended the staff and there is now an investigation ongoing.”
However Prof Rothwell said she would not commit to agreeing to meet Mr Adan.
French and linguistics student Mr Adan was physically restrained by security guards outside his halls of residence, in Fallowfield, and asked to show his ID.
He claims that guards told him he looked like he 'didn't belong' on the grounds of Manchester University and that there had been reports of 'drug dealing'.
The teenager was on his own at the time, having returned to his flat from a visit to nearby shops, but a crowd of nearby students quickly responded in his support and began filming the incident.
A video posted online shows the security guards pinning Mr Adan against the wall as he accuses them of 'racial profiling'.
The incident came amid ongoing protests by students at the university who are campaigning for rent cuts after face-to-face teaching was paused and they experienced issues with accommodation.
Earlier this week, the university pledged a reduction of two weeks’ rent for all students in their accommodation.
Students will also be able to break their accommodation agreements and leave halls during term time without receiving a financial penalty under the new measures.
But a spokesperson for the UoM Rent Strike campaign – which has called for rental fees to be reduced by 40 percent – said the offer was “far from enough”.
As part of the protests, students occupied the Owens Park Tower building in Fallowfield earlier this month.
Dame Nancy told Newsnight the university took the advice of Government, public health and experts when making the decision to allow students to return to campus.
