Brexit would endanger UK science, say experts

The signatories urge the new science minister to state his support for EU membership 'robustly'
The signatories urge the new science minister to state his support for EU membership 'robustly'
EMMANUEL DUNAND/GETTY IMAGES

Britain’s world-leading research will be set back if the country votes to leave the European Union in the coming referendum, some of the country’s leading scientists have warned.

The UK would struggle to attract the talent pool of gifted European scientists on which much cutting-edge research relies in the case of a “Brexit”, they write in a letter to The Times today. The signatories, who include Sir Paul Nurse, the Nobel laureate, and Lord Rees of Ludlow, the astronomer royal, urge the new science minister, Jo Johnson, to state his support for EU membership “robustly”.

“It is not sufficiently known to the public that the EU is a boon to UK science and innovation,” they write. “Freedom of movement for talent and ambitious EU