Pressure mounts to reverse cuts to aid-funded research

Over 6,000 sign petition to overturn cuts as prime minister questioned in parliament

A parliamentary petition to reverse cuts to research funded by the UK’s international aid budget has garnered more than 6,000 signatures within 48 hours, while Boris Johnson told MPs that he has discussed disruptions to funding programmes with the chancellor.

The petition follows the government’s decision to cut the budget for development research funded by UK Research and Innovation by 70 per cent, leaving the national funder with £120 million less than required to cover its existing commitments. On Tuesday UKRI wrote to universities asking them to choose which projects to cut and which to keep running on reduced budgets.