Image: Catholic Chirch England Wales [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0], via Flickr
Universities minister Michelle Donelan will contact institutions where academics are accused of “false narrative”
Several universities are to receive a call from further and higher education minister Michelle Donelan over comments about the Ukraine conflict published by academics.
In the House of Commons on 14 March, Robert Halfon, chair of the Education Committee and Conservative MP for Harlow, called on ministers to contact several universities to “stop them acting as useful idiots for president Putin’s atrocities in Ukraine”.
In the same session, education secretary Nadhim Zahawi promised to “crack down” on “false and dangerous” narratives at universities.
Two of those academics have told Research Professional News they strongly refute the suggestion they are apologists for the invasion.
Halfon was referring to an investigation by the LBC News outlet, which covered what he called “pro-Putinist propaganda at some of our leading universities”. The MP cited comments made on social media by three academics at the University of Edinburgh, the University of Leeds and the University of Leicester.
Tim Hayward, professor of environmental political theory at the University of Edinburgh, quote-tweeted a post from a Russian government official on 11 March, writing: “As long as we’re still able to hear two sides of the story we should continue striving to do so.”
In a tweet on 10 March, Ray Bush, emeritus professor of African studies and development politics at the University of Leeds, questioned who to believe between the United States and Russia over whether Washington had chemical weapons in Ukraine.
Halfon also criticised Tara McCormack, a lecturer in the politics and international relations department of the University of Leicester, for tweeting that there was “ludicrous disinformation on all sides” in relation to the ongoing war.
Academic response
Hayward told Research Professional News that he was “emphatically not pro-Putin”, adding that his Twitter feed contained personal opinions and had “nothing to do with my work or Edinburgh University”.
“I believe misunderstanding and one-sidedness hampers peace efforts and exacerbates conflicts,” he said of his call to hear both sides of the story. “There is a danger of escalation when propaganda and disinformation on either side encourage either overconfidence or exaggerated fears on either side.”
He added that “even enemies need to know what the other is thinking and how they rationalise their actions”.
McCormack told Research Professional News that any claims her social media posts were “pro-Putin” were “unfounded”.
“However, the broader point about disinformation in war is something I would stand by,” she said. “Truth is the first casualty of war and certainly we in the UK, home of the excellent Chilcot report, should be the most wary during times of conflict and a drive to war.”
McCormack added that she found “the tenor of the discussion alarming”.
“Are we now to expect that we must not have opinions on war and conflict that are not approved of by our government?” she asked. “And if this is the case, how is this democratic or compatible with a free society, let alone the idea of academic freedom?”
Research Professional News also contacted Bush, but he declined to comment. However, in widely reported comments elsewhere, Bush said he was “shocked that anything I have tweeted could be interpreted as ‘pro-Putinist’”.
“I am also very concerned that academics who raise questions and concerns about public policy, including the veracity of US intelligence, would be smeared as ‘useful idiots’,” he added. “We know what the consequences of US and UK interventions were in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the failures of Nato in Libya, with an outcome of lawlessness and refugee crises, among other things.”
“For the record, I oppose the war in Ukraine and its horrendous consequences,” he said.
University response
A spokesperson for the University of Leeds told Research Professional News that the university “condemns in the strongest possible terms the abhorrent wave of violence unleashed by the Russian government through its invasion of Ukraine”, and that it had “made this clear to our entire university community in a statement issued last week”.
At the University of Leicester, vice-chancellor Nishan Canagarajah said his university offered “our unequivocal support for the people of Ukraine and our peers at Ukrainian universities”.
“We are taking active steps to support our staff, students and peers who’ve been affected by the situation and we will continue to follow advice from the UK government to find further ways to help those in need during this terrible conflict,” he added.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the University of Edinburgh said that it “joins colleagues in the sector in condemning the invasion of Ukraine”, although they said it would “not comment on individual members of our staff”.
Contacting institutions
Zahawi said he was “grateful” to Halfon for raising the issue and he stressed that Donelan “is already on the case and is contacting those universities”.
“Putin and his cronies are a malign influence on anyone in this country buying their false narrative. I repeat: it is a false and dangerous narrative and we will crack down on it hard,” he said.
Meanwhile, the government has revealed that universities will be expected to help match potential sponsors to Ukrainian refugees through the government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme. The programme, announced on 14 March, will allow individuals to sponsor a refugee and bring them to the UK, where they will move in with their sponsor for a minimum of six months.
On the Homes for Ukraine website, the government wrote: “We know our charities, faith groups, universities will have extensive networks with communities and individuals across Europe. We will be working closely with all of them to ensure people who want to help are matched to people from Ukraine—such as through a charity or social media.”