The government has been criticised over the Export Control Bill during its committee stage in the House of Lords.

Baroness Warwick, chief executive of Universities UK, argued that the bill needs to be amended to guarantee academic freedom in the UK's universities.

Forum Response: Universities UK

Baroness Warwick told ePolitix.com: "Universities UK welcomed the underlying purposes of the bill when it was first considered in 1998 and continues to do so. However, what has struck Universities UK is that there is a compelling need to secure academic freedom in the bill for those who carry out vital, cutting edge research in our higher educational institutions.

"We welcome the fact that Universities UK has had a dialogue with the government on the Export Control Bill. But this work has focused on what Universities UK sees as a second best option, securing academic freedom in secondary legislation. Those discussions have been very helpful and have convinced us that the government does not want to impinge upon academic freedom with this bill. But what sort of guarantee would secondary legislation be?

"That is why I, on behalf of university vice-chancellors, would like to see this bill amended to put right on the face of the Bill a clear commitment to academic freedom."