11 April 2026
As this article in The National reveals, arms firms are present on dozens of campuses in the UK, with enough money to influence what is being taught and no doubt many other aspects of university life.
Two Scottish universities blasted as arms industry influence revealed
8 APRIL 2026
TWO of Scotland’s largest universities have been condemned after an investigation revealed that arms firms have been given direct influence over their courses.
BAE Systems, Leonardo, Thales and Rolls-Royce are among companies that have been invited to sit on at least 53 university advisory committees across the UK, according to Declassified – including several in Scotland.
Using the Freedom of Information Act, the news organisation found that at least 21 universities had asked arms companies to sit on their committees, including Edinburgh and Glasgow universities.
Declassified also reported that the firms are usually asked to provide “strategic direction” for academic departments as well as review the progress of research projects.
It also comes two years after it was revealed that UK universities had taken almost £100 million from defence firms, including many that are arming Israel amid the genocide in Gaza.
Reacting to these findings, the Scottish Greens branded it “inappropriate” in comments to The National.
Glasgow University (Image: Glasgow University)
“Universities are public institutions that should work for the good of society and in the public interest. They are not and should never be corporate playgrounds acting to serve already powerful elites,” the party’s Maggie Chapman said.
“The companies that have been given this inappropriate access to publicly funded institutions have armed, supported and enabled some of the most vile and repressive regimes around the world. Some of them have directly profited from Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.”
She added: “They are the last people who we should allow to offer ‘strategic direction’ on our courses or to shape higher education in Scotland.”
Responding to Declassified’s investigation, the co-founder of Demilitarise Education, Jinsella Kennaway, added: “Academic freedom is undermined while arms companies hold such influence over what gets researched, funded, and legitimised on campus”.
“Students deserve pathways into work that make the world safer and more humane, not careers that contribute to mass killing and deepening global insecurity,” they said.
“University leaders have a responsibility to ensure Britain’s knowledge centres contribute to saving lives, rather than allowing education to become a pipeline into the war economy.”
Both Edinburgh and Glasgow universities have been approached for comment.
