Peter Lazenby
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A DAMNING report has accused the University of Sheffield of carrying out research for arms manufacturers including those producing weapons being used against the people of Gaza.
The 66-page report, entitled Genocide and Apartheid Complicity, was prepared by academics at the university and released by Sheffield Campus Coalition for Palestine (SCCP).
It claims the university has received more cash from arms manufacturers than any other UK university — £72 million from 2012 to 2022 — and that it has “close ties” with at least 21 arms companies.
The university has also been accused of carrying out research and development where arms manufacturers pay as little as 4.5 per cent of their own costs.
Katy Fox-Hodess, a senior lecturer in employment relations at the university and a member of the University and College Union (UCU), told the Morning Star: “Sheffield is now the go-to university for arms companies to work on research and development.
“This is an incredibly good deal for the arms industry to minimise their research and development costs on manufacturing processes by working with the university.
“One of the biggest partners for the university is BAE Systems, one of the firms most heavily involved in the production of F-35 fighter planes.
“The university’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) has been involved in streamlining production of components used in F-35 fighter planes used to destroy Gaza where 35,000 people have been killed, more than half of them children.
“This is exactly the opposite of what universities should be doing, and against the stated aim of the university to carry out research for public good.”
The report also says the university has £1.8 million invested in arms firms.
A spokesperson for SCCP said: “Revelations of the full scale of the University of Sheffield’s complicity in the arms trade solidify our resolve.
“We call on the University of Sheffield to divest from the arms trade and redirect its research towards civilian uses.”
Sheffield students are among those at 25 UK universities staging student camps in support of Gaza.
SCCP added: “For as long as our university may plausibly be entangled in the business of supporting war crimes, business as usual cannot be allowed to resume.”
Sheffield University was invited to comment.
