Threat of no deal is already affecting research, MPs warn

The UK’s research and university base may “struggle to recover” from the damage of a no-deal Brexit, a parliamentary committee has said, warning that the prospect of crashing out of the European Union is already hitting the sector.

The House of Commons Committee on Exiting the EU said on 19 July that leaving the EU without a deal “would cause a short-term shock and longer term reputational damage from which the UK higher education sector would struggle to recover”.

The warning, delivered in a report, is underpinned by “overwhelming evidence” submitted by the sector in response to the committee’s inquiry into the consequences of a no-deal Brexit for UK businesses.