Britain’s top universities privately lobbied the government to keep secret the names of wealthy foreign donors, openDemocracy can reveal.
An 18-month investigation found more than £281m in anonymous donations has poured into so-called ‘Russell Group’ universities since 2017, much of it from foreign donors.
The lobbying campaign saw Cambridge University’s former vice chancellor tell a government adviser of his “dismay” at attempts to improve transparency. He said the university’s fundraising abilities could be “severely impacted” unless foreign benefactors remained secret.
