Academic Freedom: Subversion
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled New powers to protect vital free speech at universities, published on 20 April 2026, whether she has had discussions with the security services on identifying threats from hostile state actors in higher education.
Answered by Josh MacAlister
In February 2026, we hosted an event for university Vice Chancellors on foreign interference alongside my hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Security, MI5 and cyber security services. At the event, we announced a new Academic Interference Reporting Route and issued additional guidance on GOV.UK to help students and staff identify concerns and know how to escalate issues.
We continually assess potential threats to our higher education system and develop our measures accordingly. However, it is the longstanding policy of successive UK governments that we do not comment on matters of operational intelligence.
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