Hostile states targeting UK universities, warns MI5

MI5 has warned vice-chancellors that their universities are being targeted by hostile states.

The bosses of 24 leading universities, including the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London, were summoned to Whitehall on Thursday for an unprecedented briefing with security chiefs.

Ken McCallum, the director general of MI5, and Felicity Oswald, the acting chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre, warned them that states targeting their universities posed a threat to national security.

The intervention comes amid growing concerns about efforts by foreign states including China, Iran and Russia to infiltrate UK universities in order to advance their own authoritarian, military and commercial powers.

Oliver Dowden, the Deputy Prime Minister, and Michelle Donelan, the Science Secretary, who co-hosted the meeting, will launch a consultation on measures to protect sensitive research and emerging technology at universities.

Hostile states are believed to be targeting these areas with a view to stealing intellectual property to enhance their economic and military capabilities.

The consultation, due to be launched in the summer, will also consider measures to prevent institutions from becoming dependent on foreign investment. Security clearance could be introduced for academics in sensitive research areas under plans being considered by ministers.

It will also propose funding to develop security capabilities within universities and strengthen reporting processes to improve the transparency of funding flows to UK research projects and where they originate from.

Security chiefs have issued previous warnings to universities about the risk of academics having their discoveries stolen by foreign spies.

In his annual threat update in 2021, Mr McCallum said research was being “stolen or copied”, and businesses were being “hollowed out by the loss of advantage they’ve worked painstakingly to build”.

However, it is understood that the Cabinet Office meeting is the first time the group of university leaders has been summoned to meet the head of MI5 and the Deputy Prime Minister.

Last year, a report by Parliament’s intelligence and security committee warned that China could be directing and stealing UK academic research to bolster its interests. MPs were told British academics were being offered bribes to ensure that they did not criticise the Chinese regime, with the inquiry exposing Beijing’s growing influence in UK universities.

Last year, the Government launched an investigation into allegations that researchers at British universities have helped develop technology that could be used by the Iranian military.

New restrictions on research will be focused on academic areas with potential dual uses in civilian and military life.

‘Front lines of battle for information’

Mr Dowden said: “For a millennium, our universities have thrived on being open – open to ideas, open to innovation, open to being independent of Government. This is not about erecting fences – this is about balancing evolving threats and protecting the integrity and security of our great institutions.”

Ms Donelan said: “I believe that universities are on the front lines of a battle for information. Maintaining the UK’s world-leading reputation as an academic superpower relies on having strong safeguards to protect research from those who wish to do us harm.”

On Thursday night, campaigners called on the Government to go further in protecting universities from the threat of foreign influence and espionage.

Luke de Pulford, the executive director of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (Ipac), said the proposals were  “totally inadequate to address the severity of the problem”.

He added: “The elephant in the room is our dependence on fees from Chinese students. Until our universities have a more resilient funding model, we will remain exposed to Beijing’s influence.”

Ipac is calling on the Government to shut down Confucius Institutes, a network of organisations at UK universities, which have been accused of being a front for the Chinese Communist Party to clamp down on critical views on China.

Dr Tim Bradshaw, the chief executive of the Russell Group, said: “Protecting the UK’s position as a world-leader in R&D [research and development] requires a security framework for research which allows and supports joint work on global challenges like climate change without putting us at undue risk.

“This is a shared responsibility, and Russell Group universities are keen to work with ministers to get this right.

“Russell Group universities take their national security responsibilities incredibly seriously and already work closely with Government and the intelligence community to help protect UK breakthroughs in fields like AI, which are important to our national interest.

“But we also recognise security is a dynamic and evolving challenge which means we need the right expertise and intelligence to keep pace with this.”