Military Research Funding Higher than Stated

According to a recent report from the independent group Scientists for Global Responsibility, the army spends five times more on university campuses than what the government officially states.

With the UK being the world’s third biggest spender on military R&D, its universities have a big chance to collaborate with publicly funded research councils, military corporations and the MoD. The most recent (2004) government released figure of military funding in universities saw £44 million pumped into the higher education sector. Scientists for Global Responsibility have claimed this is dwarfed by the true amount, which is impossible to discover considering the considerable difficulty in gaining accurate data on military research.

The authors of the report state that with the military’s targeting of the top university scientists, other important topics of research such as the environment and health are being neglected by top scientists. Dr Chris Langley, one of the authors, said: "The creeping influence of the military establishment in our universities is deeply disturbing. We encountered secrecy, evasiveness and a lack of accountability while researching this report.

"Many university officials expressed concerns about military funding but were afraid to speak out. There must be complete transparency if public confidence in science is to be maintained."

Professor Rick Trainor, of Universities UK, disagreed with the report’s findings: "We do not accept the claim that universities are insufficiently accountable. [Universities] must account for their use of funds from a range of public and private sources." Claiming that universities hold steadfast to the Freedom of Information Act, he added "Where disclosure of particular information is exempt under that legislation, any decision not to release this will be considered carefully by the university.”