Higher Education: Oppression
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she is taking steps to engage with universities on the issue of the transnational repression of their staff and students.
Answered by Josh MacAlister
Any attempt to intimidate, harass or harm academics in the UK will not be tolerated. Since February 2026, we have held a series of events, engaging over 200 higher education staff on foreign interference concerns such as transnational repression, including a meeting of Vice-Chancellors with Ministers and MI5. The Education Secretary also met with academics to discuss how to strengthen support.
The National Security Act 2023 provides effective tools which increase our ability to target hostile activity from foreign states. For higher education, there are a range of relevant regulatory expectations including around academic freedom, free speech and protection from harassment. We have also issued guidance available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/protecting-uk-higher-education-from-foreign-interference to help students and staff identify and escalate concerns.
The government is investing £3 million in a package of measures to tackle foreign interference, including a new Academic Interference Reporting Route, enabling senior university leaders to raise concerns directly with government.
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