Chilling MI5 warning as enemies of Britain targeting UK universities for military gain

Foreign powers are targeting British universities to try and undermine national security, MI5 has said in a chilling warning.

Security bosses briefed vice-chancellors from 24 leading UK universities about the ominous threat on Thursday.

Uni chiefs were warned that enemies of Britain could target the world class research that was being undertaken in our institutions, to boost their own military and economic capabilities.

The deputy PM Oliver Dowden has said a consultation will be launched on plans to insulate UK higher education facilities from the emerging threat.

No specific states have been named explicitly, but last year Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee warned that the tentacles of the Chinese Communist Party were reaching into British academic research and influencing it.

Bosses at Britain’s top unis - some of the most prestigious in the world - were told research in sensitive areas may be targeted by foreign countries plotting to steal intellectual property to bolster their own militaries and economic potential.

Felicity Oswald, interim chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre, was alongside MI5 director general Ken McCallum at the crunch meeting, which comes off the back of the government’s review of national security threats to higher education.

The main area of concern the government will consult on will have a particular focus on academic research that could have use both in civilian and military life.

The measures they could institute to curb the Cold War-style threats could see improved transparency around funding, top uni personnel requiring security clearance and new funding options to develop research security capability within universities themselves.

Mr Dowden said UK universities had benefitted from being open "for a millennium" and the new security measures were not about undermining that.

He said: “This is not about erecting fences, this is about balancing evolving threats and protecting the integrity and security of our great institutions.”

Science and technology secretary Michelle Donelan warned universities were 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."

According to the BBC, Tim Bradshaw, the head of the elite Russell Group research universities, said top institutions take their national security responsibilities "incredibly seriously".

He added that Russell Group universities already work in lockstep with the government and the intelligence community to help "protect UK breakthroughs" in areas like artificial intelligence.

"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."

Vivienne Stern, Universities UK chief exec, said the body has worked alongside government for many years to make sure universities were well-equipped to "recognise and mitigate" national security risks.