UK research funding body in row with ministers over free speech and Gaza

Science minister Michelle Donelan requests UKRI cuts links with two members of panel she accuses of promoting extremist views

The UK’s independent research funding body has become embroiled in a fight with ministers over free speech and diversity initiatives, with the body’s chief executive saying she is “fully committed” to defending her organisation.

Prof Ottoline Leyser, chief executive of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), has been criticised for her response to demands by the science minister Michelle Donelan that UKRI cut its links with two academics that Donelan accused of promoting “extremist views” on the Israel-Gaza war.