You couldn't make it up

Today's Sunday Times:

"The Foreign Office has cleared dozens of Iranians to enter British universities to study advanced nuclear physics and other subjects with the potential to be applied to weapons of mass destruction.  In the past nine months about 60 Iranians have been admitted to study postgraduate courses deemed “proliferation-sensitive” by the security services. The disciplines range from nuclear physics to some areas of electrical and chemical engineering and microbiology."

Conservative Universities spokesman David Willetts, who uncovered this fact, commented:

“Given that we need to have tougher sanctions against Iran, it does seem extraordinary that the government is not yet stopping Iranians coming here to study nuclear physics. There is legitimate concern about what some students have been studying.”

1.45pm update.

David Willetts is really on the case now:

"It is very worrying that the Government might not be meeting its international obligations to prevent nuclear proliferation.  We have a clear obligation to ensure that our own universities, even inadvertently, do not contribute to the spread of these weapons.  I have therefore written to John Denham [Universities Secretary] setting out the crucial questions to which we need answers."

This has just been emailed to me:

"In response to news that the Foreign Office has allowed dozens of Iranians into British universities to study advanced nuclear physics, David Willetts, Shadow Universities Secretary, has written to John Denham. 

The letter says:

Dear John,

I am writing to seek crucial information about the vetting system for the teaching of "proliferation-sensitive" subjects at British universities.

The Government is obliged, under the terms of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1737 (23rd December 2006) to "prevent specialised teaching or training of Iranian nationals, which would contribute to Iran's proliferation sensitive nuclear activities".  At the GAERC meeting of EU Foreign Ministers on (22nd January 2007), the Government committed to to "take measures to prevent Iranian nationals from studying proliferation sensitive subjects". 

Following up on the answers I received to my parliamentary questions on this topic last week and on 24th April 2006, I was concerned to learn that 60 Iranian nationals have been admitted for such courses in the last year.

I appreciate that there are many Iranian nationals who have not lived in the Islamic Republic for a number of years and who are not supportive of the current regime. Moreover, we do not wish to close down our links with the people of oppressive regimes such as Iran; our universities have an important role to play in fostering cultural exchange.  There is no better way of seeing the benefits of the open society than experiencing it.   

However, we need the answers to the following key questions:

i) How many Iranian nationals have been admitted to British universities for proliferation-sensitive courses since 2000?  Of these students, how many were resident in the EU before they applied?  How many have returned to Iran?

ii) Were these Iranian nationals properly security-cleared in advance?  How many applications from Iranian students seeking to study in the UK have been rejected on security grounds?

iii) How were these Iranian students funded?

The Government has made crucial international commitments.  What steps were taken by your department (or its predecessor) to ensure we complied with these undertakings? When were these steps taken?  How many Iranian students who had been considered eligible for proliferation-sensitive subjects prior to the passing of the resolution were subsequently stopped from studying in the UK?

We have a clear obligation to ensure that our own universities, even inadvertently, do not contribute to nuclear proliferation.

Given the legitimate public interest in these questions, I am releasing this letter to the press.

Yours,

David Willetts MP"

Comments

[Umbrella man]

Has Britain ever been governed by a more incompetent shower than Brown and Blair?

Respect to Willetts for uncovering the facts.

[Jennifer Wells]

Stopping Iranians entering Britain in order to study nuclear physics isn't rocket science, surely?

Sorry; couldn't resist it! :)

[Mr Angry]

Is it incompetence or is it a deliberate "two track" strategy? Publically threaten sanctions and bluster a lot whilst privately help the Iranians become a nuclear power so that it can be presented to the British public as a fait accompli about which nothing can be done. In exchange a (worthless) private Iranian promise not to target the UK. That is exactly the sort of madness that the Foreign Office has delighted in indulging in under Labour.

[SLEEPER]

This has been going on for years.When I studied engineering in London from 1967,half the nuclear crew were either Iranians or Iraqis.I sat next to the son of the communist Polish Consel and the son of one of the Greek Colonels.

[Edison Smith]

This is the kind of hilarious-if-it-wasn't-so-serious gaffe-prone incompetence that must be brought to the attention of the public at every opportunity. Labour did it savagely to the Tories 94-97: We must do the same now.

Coulson needs to get this all over tomorrows papers.

How Labour still receive 40% in the polls remains the major mystery of our times.

[Mike A]

John Denham - who resigned over Iraq - enjoys dishing out warm words on the war on terror...

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/iraq/story/0,,1172265,00.html

"After 9/11, however, it should have been clear that the scale and nature of the threats to global security required the world community to come together on an unprecedented scale, not only to defeat terrorism, but to tackle the conflicts that give rise to it and other threats."

[Dontmakemelaugh]

How Labour still receive 40% in the polls remains the major mystery of our times.

Posted by: Edison Smith | October 28, 2007 at 13:55

It is no mystery, Edison. Much of the electorate have been either bought or bribed and much of the time the "Conservative" Party is'nt one.
England gets the government the politicians and the media deserves.

[Patsy Sergeant]

Edison Smith @ 13.55 'How Labour still recieve 40% in the polls.........

Because in the labour heartlands, many people behave like the three monkeys - well two of them anyway - hear and see no evil, and vote in the way that has always been done!

[Cllr Brook Whelan]

The Foreign Office appears to be in a competition with the Home Office as to which of them can be the most incompetent.

If it is not the Home Office failing to deport foreign criminals, then it is the Foreign Office giving nuclear expertise to a hostile nation during an international crisis. What's next?

Heads should roll for this. Period.

[David Sergeant]

How Labour still receive 40% in the polls remains the major mystery of our times.

Posted by: Edison Smith | October 28, 2007 at 13:55

This is still a hangover from the Tory party going to sleep (apart drom fighting among themselves) since Black Wednesday. In that time huge myths have built up about the 18 years - just listen to Clegg about Sheffield. Until the Conservatives are seen to have the self confidence to defend themselves and address the myths people will be dubious of a Conservative government and doubtful about investing confidence in one.

[Patsy Sergeant]

Yes that sounds pretty reasonable David Sergeant @ 16.47

[Patriot]

Another question that begs to be asked at PMQ's.

[strapworld]

Why do people place so much reliance on opinion polls?
I am of the view that they should be banned. They are a nonsense.

You look at the newspaper / broadcaster which produces the 'poll' and consider their political leanings and then realise which way it is heading towards you!

I, once, had to engage a polling company...one of the 'biggies' I was asked what result did I want!

Surprise, surprise the result of the opinion poll was just what I wanted!

How many people actually know anyone who has been asked for their opinions?

Do 'telephone polls' always use the same people?

They should be ignored and banned. They serve no useful purpose and are, when you consider, very anti democratic.

[Jim Tague]

Patsy Sargeant - Can I politely ask how many hard Labour areas you have campaigned in?

Coming second rarely gets you much coverage, but we took great heart this year when we were beat by 9 votes, 28 votes and around 50 votes in the district elections.

Yes, we got beat, but our efforts stopped the Lib-Dems taking the council, we received excellent feedback from the residents and you might have guessed, some of our agenda is now being adopted by the local Labour Party.

As someone from the North East, I could quite easily claim that any clown could get elected as a Conservative in Surrey, Kensington etc. Hardly advances our argument though.

PS. My dad was a skilled worker for British Coal, both grandfathers were miners and so were six uncles, and I walk the streets for the Conservative Party, so I might know a bit more than most on here about these so-called "three monkey voters".

We must, from activist level upwards, bombard the press till the message hits home, just keep repeating it and repeating it.

[Man in a Shed]

A wider study of who is studying what at UK Universities could be interesting.

A Chinese post grad I knew at Leeds - suddenly needed to take his camera of to watch Navy Day in Portsmouth ( a long trip for the day).

We are wide open - as with most immigration matters - and the government is in denial as overseas students pay for much of our Universities.

[Patsy Sergeant]

Jim Tague @ 18.43 I am not in anyway diminishing the tremendous efforts that are made by Conservative activists in heavily labour areas, indeed very much the reverse, I was talking about 'dyed in the wool' labour voters, similar to the 'dyed in the wool' conservative voters in other areas.

I have immense admiration for hard working conservative activists, who work very hard for the party without always achieving the success that they deserve! And you are quite right they need all the encouragement that CCHQ and the various conservative MP's can give them, especially since the media - I mean TV - always has a labour bias, and on top of that in the labour 'heartlands' the trade union tentacles are still around.

You and other posters are right that the party - conservative that is - need to build on the new found confidence that they have developed at the Conference, to enable the maximum number of people to become aware of the new policies, hopefully before they are all nicked by this perfidious government!