A prominent UK university has suspended research into alleged forced labour in China, raising serious concerns about the state of academic freedom in British higher education. The decision by Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) to stop supporting work by professor Laura Murphy was revealed in early November, shining a light on how international research into human rights can become entangled in geopolitics.
Murphy’s research, conducted at the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice (HKC) at Sheffield Hallam, focused on forced-labour links involving the Uyghur minority in China’s Xinjiang region. Her team’s findings—widely cited by governments and international bodies—helped shape policies aimed at blocking goods made with forced labour from global supply chains. In February, the university ordered a halt to her research and took down the Forced Labour Lab’s website, citing administrative issues and concerns about staff safety.
Reasons for the stoppage and Chinese influence
While the university officially pointed to issues of insurance liability and safety of staff in China, internal documents reviewed by the press suggest pressure from the Chinese government and commercial concerns over student recruitment may have played a role. For example, emails indicated that retention of Chinese-student business and publishing controversial research were being treated as “untenable bedfellows.” In April 2024, SHU’s Beijing office was reportedly visited by state security officers who questioned a staff member for two hours, according to internal summaries.
Reversal and apology
After eight months of the research ban, the university reversed its position in October and issued an apology to Professor Murphy. It affirmed that her latest research had been approved and pledged to support academic freedom. However, Murphy says she remains cautious about the extent of that support.
Wider implications for UK universities and academic freedom
This episode comes amid growing concern in the UK about foreign state influence on campus research and the integrity of universities’ commitment to free speech. The country’s updated higher-education free-speech law and regulator statements underline that suppression of research due to disapproval by foreign (or domestic) governments is unacceptable. Human-rights lawyers warn that limiting research because of perceived commercial or legal risk poses a “serious threat” to academic freedom.
Professor Murphy’s earlier work has exposed how global brands may be sourcing cotton and other raw materials tied to Uyghur forced labour, putting pressure on commercial supply chains and provoking official backlash from China. In 2022, SHU websites were reportedly blocked in China, contributing to a decline in Chinese student recruitment, which the university flagged internally as “undoubtedly … negative impact.” This case follows a broader trend of UK universities facing scrutiny over overseas partnerships, commercialisation pressures, and foreign-state interference in research.
