Mi5 have warned university leaders that foreign spies could be watching them and to improve their defenses against Chinese coercion. More than 70 vice-chancellors were called to a meeting with the intelligence agency last week and told to report foreign interference, intimidation and censorship from 'hostile states' to security services. Beijing and other foreign powers are trying to influence university research and teaching around sensitive subjects, Sir Ken McCallum said. The UK government has committed £3million to develop a secure platform for vice-chancellors and designated university security leaders to report such behaviour. Dan Jarvis, the security minister, told The Times that enemies 'seek to undermine British interests' and 'foreign interference has operated in the shadows of our universities and political institutions'.

Source: Daily Mail February 10, 2026 02:27 UTC