University leaders to get advice from security services after government review ... trends now
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University leaders are to get advice from security services after a Government review found they are being 'targeted' by hostile states.
Deputy PM Oliver Dowden announced the move as he warned that institutions are 'vulnerable' to infiltration from abroad.
Ministers ordered a review of protections for higher education last year amid concerns that countries such as China were gaining undue influence over the sector.
Speaking at Chatham House, Mr Dowden said that universities should be 'open', but the government must be 'willing to intervene if there is a clear national security risk'.
He said: 'As a first step, I will be calling in vice-chancellors to receive a Cobra briefing with our security services to understand the extent of the problem.'
Deputy PM Oliver Dowden announced the move as he warned that institutions are 'vulnerable' to infiltration from abroad
Mr Dowden also mooted consulting on the security of researchers in sensitive areas, increasing transparency in university funding, and examining how existing laws on national security and investment could apply to universities.
He added: 'In all of this, my starting position is that universities in this country have thrived literally for a millennium by being open, open to new ideas, by being independent of government.
'So we need to make sure that there's a high bar for when we actually use any of those tools in intervening in academic freedom and the freedom of universities.
'But just as we are willing to intervene in the freedom of businesses, we also need to be willing to intervene if there is a clear national security risk that we need to address.'
