The foreign affairs select committee has announced plans to investigate alleged Chinese government interference in British universities, expanding the scope of the government’s internal China audit completed in June. The move follows revelations that prompted concerns about state pressure and the chilling of academic criticism of China.
The inquiry was accelerated after reporting that Sheffield Hallam University temporarily halted the work of Professor Laura Murphy, a prominent critic of China’s human rights record. Murphy, whose research examines allegations that Uyghurs are being coerced into forced-labour programmes tied to Chinese supply chains, was blocked from continuing her project following what has been reported as sustained pressure linked to Beijing. China rejects claims of forced labour, describing its Uyghur employment initiatives as poverty-alleviation efforts.
Sheffield Hallam lifted the restriction in October and issued an apology to Murphy, but the episode has renewed alarm about both direct pressure from the Chinese state and the risk that universities self-censor to protect access to the lucrative market of Chinese students. Emily Thornberry, chair of the foreign affairs select committee, said available evidence points to Chinese government interference in UK higher education that warrants scrutiny and coordinated institutional responses.
The Sheffield Hallam branch of the University and College Union (UCU) and the union’s national executive have called for a full public inquiry into how the university handled Murphy’s case and for a government-led review into whether commercial considerations undermine academic freedom. Similar motions are expected from other regional UCU branches. Bob Jeffrey, a Sheffield Hallam UCU branch officer, said Murphy’s case “really resonates” with union members, and other UK academics have since described intense pressure from Beijing.
Internal Sheffield Hallam emails described a perceived conflict between Murphy’s research and the university’s business interests in China as “untenable bedfellows.” The university says those emails do not reflect official policy and denies that commercial considerations motivated the decision to block the work. Separately, the institution has been referred to counter-terrorism police amid concerns that the action might have aided a foreign intelligence service.
Staff at Sheffield Hallam planned to strike amid anger over proposed job cuts and the university’s handling of the incident. UCU general secretary Jo Grady said it was “incredibly worrying” that the university appeared to have tried to silence a professor on behalf of a foreign government.
The case has revived long-standing anxieties about UK universities’ financial reliance on international tuition fees from China. Nearly 150,000 Chinese students were enrolled in the UK in 2023–24, paying billions in fees that many institutions consider vital to their budgets. While collaboration with Chinese students and partners has been credited with boosting UK research—especially in science and technology—officials and experts have warned of security risks associated with some joint projects.
Parliamentary scrutiny has previously flagged these dangers: in 2023 the intelligence and security committee warned that China could gain political and economic advantage in the UK by shaping debate within universities, exerting pressure on academics and influencing Chinese students. The China Index, a monitoring project by Doublethink Lab, places the UK among the countries most affected by Chinese government influence in academia.
Beijing has strongly contested the Sheffield Hallam reporting. The state-run Global Times said Western scholars “essentially only have the freedom to express anti-China sentiments, not the right to conduct free research.” A Chinese embassy spokesperson accused the individual involved of receiving funding and support from US government agencies and others to mount a political campaign against China’s Xinjiang policies, and said China opposes attempts to slander the country.
Additional research by Lillian Yang.