'Licensing' of students planned in Export Bill
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Claims by Lord Sainsbury of Turville, the Science minister, to peers that the new Export Control Bill would not require the licensing of foreign students were flatly contradicted by his own civil servants in private meetings, The Independent has established.
The revelation could prompt a backbench rebellion in favour of a Tory amendment that is being backed by the Liberal Democrats when the Bill returns to the Lords today.
The Bill, intended to update the old export controls that applied only to physical goods, will now also include the export of ideas, via electronic or physical means. But that has made it a source of concern for academics who fear it will give the Government the right to review and suppress research, and to demand that foreign students of courses such as genetic engineering or nuclear science be "licensed to learn".
Lord Sainsbury has repeatedly denied this – most recently in a Lords committee on 4 March, when he said: "There is no question of the Government licensing foreign students ... the Bill does not give us the powers to do that."
But The Independent has a copy of minutes of a meeting last September at which Bridget Butt, of the Department of Trade and Industry, met Universities UK. She said: "The proposed legislation is intended to enable government in a limited number of cases to inform an institution that an export licence would be needed to control the transfer of a particular sort of information to a particular individual."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments