A prominent British university paused critical research into China’s human rights abuses following pressure tied to Beijing, the Guardian has revealed — raising alarm over academic freedom in the UK.

In February, Sheffield Hallam University — home to the acclaimed Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice — ordered professor Laura Murphy to stop her groundbreaking work on forced labour and supply chains in China. Murphy’s research has been pivotal in documenting the coercive labour schemes targeting Uyghurs, a Muslim minority widely reported to face persecution in China’s Xinjiang region.

Murphy and her team had contributed to major international policy efforts aimed at blocking products linked to forced labour. Their findings have been cited by Western governments and the United Nations. Beijing denies such abuses, claiming work programs are aimed at poverty relief.

However, Murphy’s Forced Labour Lab website was removed, and she was instructed to cease research on China. The move came months after the university cancelled a report on forced labour risks in the critical-minerals supply chain, returning grant funding to legal NGO Global Rights Compliance, which later published the findings independently.

Murphy said she suspected the university was prioritising access to Chinese tuition-fee revenues over academic freedom — a claim the university denies. She called the experience “really shocking.”

Sheffield Hallam later lifted its research block in October — following threats of legal action from Murphy — and apologised, but she remains cautious about ongoing institutional support.

University officials cited staff-safety concerns and insurance complications after a Chinese firm sued over a separate report. The lawsuit is ongoing, and the incident underscores the growing strain on UK academia under pressure from China’s government.

Experts warn the episode shows how financial and geopolitical pressures can threaten independent research — particularly when it challenges powerful state interests.