Foreign academics banned from contributing to Brexit negotiations

Academics and expert government advisers who are non-British nationals will be asked not to contribute to reports, analysis, or government policy on Brexit on account of their nationality.

Foreign academics at the London School of Economics (LSE) were sent an email from the Foreign Office informing them that their expert contributions to the Government were no longer wanted in relation to government planning and strategy in negotiating Brexit.

This was revealed by Sara Hagemann—an assistant professor at LSE who specialises in EU policymaking processes, EU treaties, and the role of national parliaments. She said in a tweet that she had been told she and many others “no longer qualify” as government experts because they are not UK citizens.

The Liberal Democrats’ EU spokesman Nick Clegg condemned the news: “It is utterly baffling that the government is turning down expert, independent advice on Brexit simply because someone is from another country.

“This is yet more evidence of the Conservatives’ alarming embrace of petty chauvinism over rational policymaking.”

Hagemann, who is Danish, said she had been informed specifically that she wouldn’t be asked to contribute further to any Brexit-based government policy or analysis.

The Guardian reported that up to nine LSE academics specialising in EU affairs have been working with the Foreign Office on briefings for Brexit issues, but that any non-UK citizens would no longer be allowed to provide expertise. According to The Independent, it has been suggested that one of the academics affected is a dual national, with citizenship of both the UK and another EU member state.

The move is all the more confusing given Britain’s well-advertised lack of trade negotiators, something that could possibly affect its ability to take part in exhaustive and protracted talks with the countries that remain in the EU as part of its Brexit strategy.

A spokesman for LSE said: “The UK government regularly calls upon LSE’s world-class academics for their advice on a range of issues.

“We believe our academics, including non–UK nationals, have hugely valuable expertise, which will be vital in this time of uncertainty around the UK’s relationship with Europe and the rest of the world.

“Any changes to security measures are a matter for the UK government,” the spokesman added.