Intelligence agencies provide briefings on foreign interference

MI5 and cyber security services deliver rare briefings to Vice Chancellors and political parties to harden the UK’s resilience against foreign interference.

Britain is strengthening its defences against hostile state interference with new briefings and support to protect our universities, researchers and political system. 

Senior leaders from over 70 universities attended a security briefing delivered by MI5 Director General Sir Ken McCallum and National Cyber Security Centre CEO Richard Horne, to increase understanding of how foreign interference can manifest, including attempts to shape and censor research or teaching, along with how to resist and report it. 

The rare event, only the second of its kind and the largest to date, was hosted by Security Minister Dan Jarvis and Skills Minister Jacqui Smith. It was followed by a separate second-of-its-kind security briefing for officials from all UK political parties, underscoring a non-partisan commitment to recognising and resisting attempts to manipulate the political process and our democratic values.  

It comes as £3 million is being invested in a package of measures to tackle the issue in our world-class universities. The new Academic Interference Reporting Route will enable senior leaders at universities to report concerns directly to the government, including security services. This will enable individual concerns to be acted on more quickly, whilst also building a bigger picture of the threats facing UK institutions. 

The Department for Education will consult the sector on the design of a new proactive advisory service, alongside further guidance and training. 

New guidance has also been published today to help staff and students understand the concerns, where to go for support and how to respond.