The Closing of the British Mind? Brexit, EU academics, and government advice

Rightly or wrongly, the Brexit vote is widely perceived as being (among other things) an attack upon academic expertise.

Equally – again rightly or wrongly – the Brexit vote is being widely perceived as being as an attack upon EU citizens in the UK. These two issues merge together in a dispute which has attracted attention in October 2016. It concerns the alleged policy adopted by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), as applied to the London School of Economics (LSE), ‘banning’ citizens of other EU countries from giving the government policy advice about Brexit. We can’t be sure what actually happened, but what probably happened?

• Primary Source

The Independent, 08.10.16: LSE vows to ignore Government's 'ban on foreign academics advising on Brexit' http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/lse-vows-to-ignore-government-brexit-ban-foreign-academics-advice-sara-hagemann-a7351506.html

Blog: Jack of Kent, 08.10.16: What did the Foreign and Commonwealth Office say to the London School of Economics about foreign academics? http://jackofkent.com/2016/10/what-did-the-foreign-and-commonwealth-office-say-to-the-london-school-of-economics-about-foreign-academics/

BBC News, 07.10.16: Brexit: LSE foreign experts 'should not advise ministers' http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-37590044

---