Amid British media reports alleging that China ran a two-year campaign to stop research by a Sheffield Hallam University’s professor into the purported forced labour of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, the university has said its decision to pause the research was “not based on its commercial interests in China”.
It has also maintained that China is not a large sending market for the institution.
Laura Murphy, professor of human rights and contemporary slavery at the university, was researching forced labour in China’s solar panel, car parts, and clothing industries. Her research was initially praised for exposing abuses against Uyghur Muslims but dismissed by the Chinese Embassy in the UK as “not withstanding basic fact checks” — triggering tensions between Sheffield Hallam and Chinese authorities.
The Chinese embassy in London has told the BBC that the university had released “multiple fake reports on Xinjiang that are seriously flawed” and has pointed out that some of the work’s authors had received funding “from certain US agencies”.
“While presenting itself as an academic body, the Centre has in practice acted as a vehicle for politicised and disinformation-driven narratives deployed by anti-China forces,” the embassy told the BBC.
Murphy told the BBC that she has received funding over her career from the US National Endowment for Humanities for work on slave narratives, the US Department of Justice for work on human trafficking in New Orleans, and USAID, the US State Department and the UK Foreign Office for her work on China.
The issues her research faced first surfaced in August 2022, when the university’s English testing website used by Chinese students was temporarily blocked and email communication with China was disrupted, according to reporting by the BBC.
The news organisation reported that internal documents released to Murphy under a Subject Access Request show that the university acknowledged this had “undoubtedly had a negative impact on recruitment” in 2023/24, with an “anticipated further decline in 2024/25″.
Furthermore, in 2024, the documents revealed that Sheffield Hallam’s China staff were threatened by individuals posing as officials from the “National Security Service” — an organisation that does not formally exist in China — who reportedly demanded the research be stopped, citing internet issues faced by the university as being due to Uyghur research available on its website.
By July 2024, internal emails showed university officials warning that “retaining business in China and publishing the research are now untenable bedfellows”, after earlier noting that the university’s scholarly activity in China and Hong Kong was at risk due to Murphy’s work on “alleged persecution of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang”.
Finally, in September 2024, the university reportedly decided not to publish the final phase of the research on forced labour in China, leading to improved relations with Chinese authorities and staff wellbeing no longer being affected. A few months later, at the start of 2025, Murphy was informed by the university that she could not continue her work on China.
For its part, the institution has maintained that business interests were not part of its decision to pause the research.
“The university’s decision to not continue with Professor Laura Murphy’s research was taken based on our understanding of a complex set of circumstances at the time, including being unable to secure the necessary professional indemnity insurance,” stated a spokesperson from Sheffield Hallam.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the decision was not based on commercial interests in China. Regardless, China is not a significant international student market for the university.”
While China remains one of the largest sources of international students in the UK, with over 200,000 studying in the country, Sheffield Hallam has seen a steep decline in enrolments from China — from 500 students in 2018 to just 73 in 2024/25, accounting for only 1.7% of its total international intake.
According to reporting by the BBC, internal emails from 2022 show officials were already concerned that numbers would not rebound after the Covid pandemic, warning that criticism from the Chinese government could trigger a “boycott” by prospective students and recruitment agents.
The documents show that, overall, Sheffield Hallam earned £3.8 million from China and Hong Kong in 2021/22.
The university reported relevant matters to the UK government and has engaged with the relevant UK authorities for some time, including the Department for Education
Sheffield Hallam University spokesperson
The university has since apologised to Murphy and confirmed she can resume her work, with Murphy no longer pursuing legal action that she had initiated against the institution.
“We have apologised to Professor Murphy and wish to make clear our commitment to supporting her research and to securing and promoting freedom of speech and academic freedom within the law. Professor Murphy’s research remains available on our website,” stated the university spokesperson.
“We will uphold and, where required, robustly defend the academic freedom of our staff in accordance with legislation.”
Despite eased tensions between the professor and the university, the UK government is proceeding with its own investigation into the matter, which has been referred to counter-terrorism police. Officials said the “allegations fall under Section 3 of the National Security Act”, relating to “assisting foreign intelligence services”.
The university is currently cooperating with UK authorities as they determine how the investigation will proceed.
“The university reported relevant matters to the UK government and has engaged with the relevant UK authorities for some time, including the Department for Education. At no point has the university proactively made contact with Chinese security services,” stated the university spokesperson.
Reports suggest the UK had warned China it would not tolerate attempts to suppress academic freedom at British universities, raising the issue with the country’s senior education officials.
The PIE News also understands that Sheffield Hallam raised concerns about foreign state interference in university business at a 2023 meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, amid broader warnings of “alarming evidence” of Chinese influence on UK campuses.
With China-UK research collaboration having expanded sharply over the past two decades, with some reports suggesting China’s impact on UK research has grown tenfold, the Sheffield Hallam case risks straining future academic ties.
“Whether grounded in reality or not, this kind of allegation risks damaging educational and research exchanges between the UK and China, though I hope any impact can be kept to a minimum,” an industry expert, who didn’t wish to be named, told The PIE.
“In collaborations with Chinese institutions, UK universities usually take an open-minded approach. While upholding their values, they can still engage with Chinese counterparts on sensitive topics such as forced labour in Xinjiang – research that would be far more meaningful if supported by evidence gathered on the ground.”
