'Top foreign academics at London School of Economics banned from advising government on Brexit'

Barred: European LSE academics claim they have been barred from Brexit talks
Oli Scarff/Getty Images
Jamie Micklethwaite7 October 2016

Top academics from the London School of Economics have accused the government of barring them from Brexit talks because they are foreign.

Sara Hagemann, an assistant professor at the school's European Institute who is Danish, said government representatives told her that she and her non-UK colleagues "no longer qualify" as expert advisers.

A memo to staff from LSE interim director Julia Black, obtained Friday by The Times, said "the Foreign Office have advised us that they will be issuing tenders to contract for advisory work, but that only U.K. nationals will be eligible to apply."

The university said in a statement that "any changes to security measures are a matter for the U.K. government."

It said a group of fewer than 10 London School of Economics experts had been giving the government advice on Brexit.

"We believe our academics, including non-U.K. nationals, have hugely valuable expertise, which will be vital in this time of uncertainty around the U.K.'s relationship with Europe and the rest of the world," it said.

The Foreign Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Formal Brexit talks have yet to begin, but many in the business and academic spheres have accused the government of harming Britain's international reputation with hard-line comments about immigration and relations with the EU.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd drew strong criticism this week when she said companies could be forced to disclose what percentage of their workforce was from other countries.

She later said the government was not committed to the idea.

Nick Clegg, a spokesman on Europe issues for Britain's Liberal Democrats party, said the decision about the academics was "utterly baffling."

He added: "This is yet more evidence of the Conservatives alarming embrace of petty chauvinism over rational policymaking."

A Foreign Office spokesman insisted nothing had changed since the pro-Brexit referendum result.

"The FCO regularly works with academic institutions to assist in its policy research, and nothing has changed as a result of the referendum.

"It has always been the case that anyone working in the FCO may require security clearance depending on the nature and duration of their work.

"Britain is an outward-looking nation and we will continue to take advice from the best and brightest minds, regardless of nationality."

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