UK university professor was told to stop human rights research following pressure from China

A professor from Sheffield Hallam University was told to stop research into human rights abuses following pressure from China.

In February 2025, Laura Murphy, one of the most well-known professors at the university, was ordered to cease her research project on forced labour and supply chains in China.

Her research project concentrated on the Uyghurs, a Turkic ethnic group originating in Central Asia who have faced systematic persecution from the Chinese government since 2016. This includes detention in labour camps and prisons, where instances of torture and mistreatment have been reported.

Murphy […] was told to stop her work, while the website for the Forced Labour Lab, her team of researchers at the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice (HKC), was taken down

The Chinese government rejects all claims of forced labour and says that the Uyghur ‘work programmes’ are designed for poverty alleviation.

Murphy, whose project had previously been described as “groundbreaking” by the university, was told to stop her work, while the website for the Forced Labour Lab, her team of researchers at the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice (HKC), was taken down.

However, while HKC’s work was removed by the university, several of its reports remain accessible within the university archives.

In October 2025, Sheffield Hallam University said that it was lifting the ban on Murphy’s research into forced labour and issued a public apology to her and her team.

The 8-month abandonment of previous research, however, illustrates the considerable influence that Chinese authorities may exert over UK universities.

Speaking after the lifting of the ban, Murphy told The Guardian: “I’m unclear at this point whether the university is prepared to be as supportive as it used to be.”

We have apologised to Prof Murphy and wish to make clear our commitment to supporting her research and to securing and promoting freedom of speech and academic freedom within the law

Sheffield Hallam University had informed Murphy that it was no longer able to publicly support her work due to a combination of administrative issues, with Murphy stating that her “first response was confusion” regarding the matter.

Further inquiries suggested to Murphy that the university was “explicitly trading my academic freedom for access to the Chinese student market”, although the university has denied Murphy’s claims by saying that “it wasn’t based on commercial interests”.

A spokesperson for Sheffield Hallam said the decision to halt Murphy’s work was “based on our understanding of a complex set of circumstances at the time, including being unable to secure the necessary professional indemnity insurance”.

“Following a review, we have since approved Prof Murphy’s latest research and are committed to supporting her to undertake and disseminate this important work.

“We have apologised to Prof Murphy and wish to make clear our commitment to supporting her research and to securing and promoting freedom of speech and academic freedom within the law.”