Documents obtained by the British broadcaster show that China has launched a campaign of intimidation against British universities to force the closure of research into human rights abuses, writes the BBC.
Staff at Sheffield Hallam University in China have been threatened by individuals who have identified themselves as representatives of the Chinese State Security Service, demanding that research carried out in Sheffield be stopped. Access to the university’s websites has also been blocked in China, making it difficult to attract students. The threats and intimidation have lasted for at least two years.
As is understood, after the British authorities learned about what was happening, Foreign Secretary David Lammy warned the Chinese Foreign Minister that Britain would not tolerate attempts to suppress academic freedom at its universities. The Chinese Education Minister has also been informed of the issues.
China has sought to stop research by human rights and modern slavery researcher Laura Murphy, a professor at the University of Sheffield, into the forced labor camps of China’s Muslim Uyghur community. China has consistently denied allegations that it is committing crimes against humanity and possibly genocide against the Uyghurs. In late 2024, after sustained pressure and a defamation lawsuit, Sheffield Hallam University decided not to publish the final part of a study by Murphy and her team on forced labor. In early 2025, the university informed the professor that she could no longer continue her research into supply chains and forced labor in China.
The professor has launched legal action against the university, alleging that it failed to protect academic freedom,
and has demanded access to any internal documents related to the issues. The documents show that the university negotiated with Chinese intelligence and traded Murphy’s academic freedom for the opportunity to attract students from China. Murphy added: “I’d never seen anything quite so patently explicit about the extent to which a university would go to ensure that they have Chinese student income.”
Sheffield Hallam University has apologised to Murphy and allowed the research to continue. A university spokesman said the decision to stop the research was based on the difficult circumstances at the time, including the inability to obtain the necessary professional liability insurance.
Joe Grady, general secretary of the Association of Universities and Colleges in the UK, said it was deeply disturbing to see Sheffield Hallam University working for a foreign government to silence its own professor. Grady added that now that the university has engaged in censorship, it will have to consider how to ensure its academics are supported and protected from influence by foreign powers.
A government spokesman told the BBC that
any foreign attempt to intimidate or harm British nationals would not be tolerated,
and that this had been made clear to Beijing following the incident.
Murphy published her first major study on forced labor among Uyghurs in 2021. Four more studies followed in the following months, including on forced labor in auto parts factories and the cotton industry. China has denied that forced labor is being used. The Chinese embassy in London told the BBC that Sheffield Hallam University had published several fabricated reports on the Xinjiang region. The embassy also said it was aware that the studies had been funded by certain US agencies.
Murphy said she had received funding from the US, including from the US government, throughout her career.
The Chinese embassy said the allegations of forced labor did not stand up to basic fact-checking. While the Sheffield Hallam University research center positions itself as an academic institution, it is in fact a tool for spreading politicized and false information.
Internal university correspondence shows that it began receiving criticism from China as early as 2022, and in 2024 it turned into a real threat. In April 2024, three State Security Service agents arrived at the university’s China office. At that time, a local staff member was questioned for two hours. During another visit, the agents explained that the university’s website was down in China because it published a study on Uyghurs.
Meanwhile,
Sheffield Hallam University says that any internal communication must be seen in context
and does not reflect the university’s official position.
The British university has also been troubled by a study on clothing supply chains published in December 2023. Hong Kong clothing retailer Smart Shirts Ltd filed a defamation lawsuit because its name was included in the report. An initial ruling by the High Court in London in December 2024 said the research report was defamatory. The court case is still pending, and the university will have the opportunity to present its arguments, but insurers have said they will no longer cover the costs associated with defamation lawsuits.
Professor Murphy, meanwhile, has gained international recognition. Her work has been cited in the British parliament, Canada and Australia. In early 2023, Murphy temporarily suspended her work at the university to focus on other responsibilities. When she returned, the university had decided to close her department. Murphy was told that the university would not continue her research on supply chains and forced labor in China because it was no longer allowed by insurance policy, and that checks would be carried out on other jobs or public duties outside the university to determine whether there was a conflict of interest. Murphy took legal action to continue her work. The legal action was suspended after the university apologized.
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