Sheffield Hallam halted research after ‘harassment and intimidation’ by Chinese authorities

Good afternoon readers — and welcome to this week’s Monday briefing.

Universities have changed a bit since The Tribune was a student. Over the last 25 years, what were merely important local institutions have morphed into huge businesses with a global reach, which have to compete with each other for the lucrative market in international students. That change sometimes brings them into contact with thorny geopolitical issues, in a way that can make their loftier academic goals more difficult. The Guardian and BBC report today that Sheffield Hallam was subjected to a campaign of "harassment and intimidation" by the Chinese state, although a university spokesperson denies that their decision to halt controversial research was made for commercial reasons. That’s today’s big story.

As well as that we have news of a Halloween party that got out of control on Friday night, a visit to Sheffield for a 60s legend, and a beautiful home in Greenhill.

Last call: Unbelievably, we still have six tickets left for tomorrow’s beer tasting with Abbeydale Brewery. How have they gone from a tiny operation to one of the north’s biggest and best beer makers? And how do you even get a stout to taste like Stroopwaffels? To get answers to these and other questions, while supping six specially chosen beers from a wide range of styles, just click that button.

In case you missed it

For our weekend read, we and our sister titles up and down the country joined forces to offer a zoomed-out view of the UK’s flag-raisers, “the people whose small-scale political activism has created a mini culture war about how we display our national identity”. While Nigel Farage has insisted the Union Jacks popping up are being raised by “ordinary people” putting “two fingers up” at the establishment, our combined reporting found that, in many cases, this is not the case. “Superb journalism,” wrote Tribune member Ray Kohn. “If only our national papers and broadcasters could attain these standards.” You can read that piece here.

Last week we sent just one newsletter to our paying supporters after a last-minute legal threat forced us to delay the second piece. On Wednesday, Dan reported on the strange case of a ghost that was alleged to be haunting a nightclub. According to a wonderful BBC Archive film from 1970, the Cavendish Club on Bank Street (now a Job Centre) was being haunted by a Mr Fox, the “elderly, unswinging, flat-hatted, disapproving spirit of Sheffield’s past”. We’re still hoping to bring you that second piece later this week, lawyers permitting.

The big picture: Gorgeous gardens 🌳

One day we will stop posting autumnal shots of Sheffield, but today is not that day. This stunning picture was captured by the great Emma Bothamley in the Peace Gardens last week.

The big story: Sheffield Hallam halted research after ‘harassment and intimidation’ by Chinese authorities

Top line: A bombshell report in the Guardian claims that Chinese authorities subjected Sheffield Hallam University to a campaign of “harassment and intimidation” for two years to shut down sensitive research into alleged human rights abuses in the country.

Uyghur worries: The case involves the work of Professor Laura Murphy, a human rights and contemporary slavery academic at Hallam, who had been researching allegations Uyghur Muslims in the north-western region of Xinjiang were subject to forced labour. Hallam staff in China were allegedly threatened by China's National Security Service who told them the research should be stopped.

• As well as the campaign of harassment and intimidation, access to Hallam’s websites from China was also blocked, affecting its ability to recruit students from the country.
• In a July 2024 internal email seen by the BBC, university officials said "attempting to retain the business in China and publication of the research are now untenable bedfellows".

Academic freedom: In late 2024, Hallam decided to pull a piece of research by Professor Murphy and her team after pressure from the Chinese state and a defamation claim lodged by one of the companies named in the report. At the beginning of 2025, university managers informed her she was not able to "continue with her research into supply chains and forced labour in China".

“I'd never seen anything quite so patently explicit about the extent to which a university would go to ensure that they have Chinese student income," she told the BBC, adding that the case showed her university "had negotiated directly with a foreign intelligence service to trade my academic freedom for access to the Chinese student market”. The university has now apologised to Professor Murphy and said she can resume her work.

‘A complex set of circumstances’: A spokesperson for Sheffield Hallam reached out to The Tribune to categorically deny that the decision to end Professor Murphy’s research was “based on commercial interests in China,” insisting it 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”. They add that China is “not a significant international student market for the University,” with only 73 Chinese students attending Hallam last academic year. 

They added: “Following a review, we have since approved Professor Murphy’s latest research and are committed to supporting her to undertake and disseminate this important work.  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. We will uphold and, where required, robustly defend the academic freedom of our staff in accordance with legislation.”

Government response: When the UK government learned of what had happened, David Lammy — then Foreign Secretary — warned his Chinese opposite number that attempts to suppress academic freedom would not be tolerated. “Any attempt by a foreign state to intimidate, harass or harm individuals in the UK will not be tolerated, and the government has made this clear to Beijing after learning of this case,” a government spokesperson told the BBC.

Chinese response: The Chinese Embassy in London said Professor Murphy’s research was “seriously flawed" and could not “withstand basic fact-check”. They also said Murphy’s research had been funded by US agencies. In China Daily, an English-language newspaper owned by the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party, they said the reports were “some of the latest in shoddy research funded by the US government to fabricate false claims”. They wrote:

“The flawed research produced by Sheffield Hallam University, and those like it, has been adopted as gospel truth by Western media and politicians. It shows the corrosive influence that US monetary grants has on genuine research, and the increasing weaponization of academic institutions by the West as part of its disinformation campaign. In the long term, reports such as these are not just detrimental to the reputation of Sheffield Hallam University but to all other Western institutions."

Not just Hallam: Several UK universities and academics have come under pressure from China to change their research interests. In 2021, Newcastle University academic Dr Jo Smith Finley was one of nine UK citizens targeted for spreading what China called "lies and disinformation". Another BBC report earlier this year alleged that Chinese students at UK universities were being “pressured to spy on their classmates in an attempt to suppress the discussion of issues that are sensitive to the Chinese government”.

Bottom line: As well as being an important test case for academic freedom in the UK, this row is symptomatic of the invidious position UK universities are in. As a result of long-term underfunding, universities are desperate to attract international students to ensure they can balance their budgets. Hallam insists international enrollment wasn’t a factor in their decision but, when universities are forced to think like businesses, it seems almost inevitable that academic integrity risks being bought and sold.

Know anything more about this topic? Get in touch with our reporter Victoria by emailing victoria@sheffieldtribune.co.uk.

Your Tribune briefing 🗞️

🚨 Police were called to an out of control Halloween party of Friday night after a 16-year-old girl was found injured in the street. The party, which is reported to have taken place at an AirBnB rental at the Jet Centro building on St Mary’s Gate, involved around 25 people and left the apartment seriously damaged. Photos shared on the Sheffield Online Facebook page show punched-through walls, blood-stained bedding, and debris strewn corridors. Police confirmed they attended and dispersed a crowd of people from the property, and appealed for anyone with information to contact them.

🪺 Special bricks designed to offer safe nesting spaces for swifts are being installed in homes around Shirebrook Valley, at no cost to homeowners. So far, the Sheffield Swift Network charity has installed the bricks on 61 properties, with the help of £7,000 in council funding and an extra £5,000 grant from the council’s Species Survival Community Fund. Project leader Ann Ellis explained that modern building and insulation techniques have blocked many of their traditional nesting spaces. "It's a magnificent bird, but on more than one occasion we've managed to destroy its habitat," she told the BBC. “They would've nested in ancient forests, but we've cut them down, so they've adapted to come into buildings, where they've been for several hundred years.”

🎄 Christmas is now just over 50 days away and right on time, the massive, double-decker Alpine Lodge has once again landed in the Peace Gardens. The Star reports there will be four bars this year, including one specialising in mulled wine, as well as over 50 stalls on Pinstone Street and The Moor. However, citing safety concerns, the council says there will be no light turn on event again this year. The markets open on Thursday, 13 November.

Home of the week 🏡

This three bedroom mid-terrace in Greenhill is spread over three floors and retains lots of its original features, including stained glass doors and windows and cast iron fireplaces in the living and dining rooms. In the back garden it has extra storage buildings, an outside toilet, and a large timber “garden room” with power and lighting. It is on the market for £270,000.

Things to do 📆

History 🧵 On Tuesday, join the Victorian Society at the Showroom for an illustrated talk about the new book The Northern Art Workers’ Guild and the Arts and Crafts movement in Manchester. The talk will also include information about what was happening in Sheffield at that time, in particular, the setting up of the Guild of St George in 1871 by John Ruskin and the Sheffield Artcrafts Guild in 1894. Tickets are priced £5 and the talk begins at 7.30pm.

Fireworks 🎆 On Bonfire Night on Wednesday, the UK’s largest touring firework display, Autumn Lights, will return to the Don Valley Bowl. The family-friendly event will feature lots of live entertainment, plus fairground rides and food stalls, as well as two firework displays choreographed to music. This is the fourth time Autumn Lights has visited Don Valley Bowl, with around 10,000 people attending last year. Tickets are £10 for adults and £5 for children.

Music 🔥 No, you aren’t dreaming and yes, The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown are playing at Sidney and Matilda on Thursday. Best known for their 1968 hit Fire (famously sampled in The Prodigy song from 1992 of the same name), in their 60s heyday they shared bills with luminaries including the Who, Jimi Hendrix, the Mothers of Invention, the Doors, the Small Faces and Joe Cocker, among others. Tickets are priced £25 and doors open at 7.30pm.

If someone forwarded you this newsletter, click here to sign up to get quality local journalism in your inbox.