Government spends nearly £30m of taxpayers' cash on fringe research projects including gay porn studies and recording Syrian harvesting songs
Almost £30million of UK taxpayer money has been spent on fringe research projects including studies into gay porn after the Second World War and recording Syrian harvesting songs.
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has been given the staggering amount of funding for a number of overseas projects, which appear to have no clear benefit to British taxpayers.
The funding includes £850,000 for Birmingham City University to delve into the circulation of gay male porn and porn magazines at the end of the Second World War, a T elegraph investigation revealed.
The University of Oxford received more than £350,000 in a bid to preserve the threatened language of Enggano, spoken by just 1,500 people on Enggano Island, in Sumatra, Indonesia.
Meanwhile, £784,000 was given to the University of Exeter to build a historical account of the development of child soldiering in Africa.
It also received £307,000 of funding to revive ancestral territories, including the language and cultures of the K'omox, Pentlatch, and E'iksan in Vancouver Island, Canada, and the Maori of New Zealand.
Edinburgh University were given £123,000 to record 'harvesting songs of displaced Syrian refugees living in Middle Eastern countries', while the University of Warwick received almost £800,000 to study 'invisible women in Italian cinema'.
Joanna Marchong, investigations campaign manager of the TaxPayers' Alliance, believes taxpayers will be 'livid' after learning how 'ridiculous some of these research projects have become'.
However, UKRI said that funding will only be given to projects that show value for money for British taxpayers and have a societal benefit.
Ms Marchong said: 'UKRI have a proven track record of wasting taxpayers' cash on research projects that are no more than virtue-signalling nonsense that don't stand to benefit the people paying for them.
'Ministers need to remember why UKRI was created and return to investing in research that will make a difference to hard-working Brits.'
Another project includes a joint study between the University of Roehampton and Stellenbosch University in South Africa, which was given £2.8million in funding to research how music could help the mental health of expectant mothers in Africa.
When asked whether the study would also be used to help British mothers, the Stellenbosch University project team did not respond.
They did say that 'group music-making has been shown to boost mood and foster social connections' and early research shows that listening to specially composed music during pregnancy 'reduces anxiety symptoms.'
Roehampton University also received £805,000 to recreate a performance of the 16th-century play Galatea by John Lyly centred around 'female, trans, queer, disabled and migrants'.
While, the University of London received £323,000 to make a film-making union to assist the Mursi agro-pastoralists of the Lower Omo Valley of Ethiopia.
Other projects that were given funding included a look into housing rights for marginalised citizens of Lagos and São Paulo. University of Manchester received nearly £250,000 for the study.
Around £300,000 was given to Birmingham University to 'promote reproductive justice' for the Pankararu and Xukuru communities in north-east Brazil.
The University of Cambridge was awarded a similar amount for the 'restoration of traditional justice in the Sa'th Tama Kiwe Territory in Caldono, Cauca, Colombia'.
The majority of projects funded were awarded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, part of UKRI. While, a handful fell under the National Institute for Health and Care Research.
A UKRI spokesman said: 'International research collaboration is vital to help us tackle global challenges in a complex and interconnected world, improving security and prosperity in the UK and internationally.
'Several of the projects highlighted were funded through Official Development Assistance, where the main benefit is required to be in the developing country involved.
'Projects are prioritised for funding through independent expert peer review, as set out in the Higher Education and Research Act.
'UKRI supports a diverse portfolio of investments including curiosity-driven research and strategic initiatives, which drives the creation and exploitation of new knowledge, and develops skilled and talented people for a wide range of jobs improving lives and livelihoods across the UK.
'On average, every £1 of public R&D investment generates at least £7 of net benefit to the UK through the development of new and better goods, services and processes.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
28 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Starmer must intervene over Thames Water crisis, say creditors
Sir Keir Starmer is facing pressure to intervene in efforts to save Thames Water amid concerns that rescue talks could stall and leave Britain's biggest utility facing collapse. Investors spearheading a bid for the stricken company say Ofwat's unwillingness to compromise on the issue of future fines threatens to scupper Thames's efforts to avoid special administration. As fears over a breakdown in discussions escalate, the Prime Minister is being urged to step in and compel the watchdog to soften its stance on financial penalties. 'We have had a year of dealing with one of the most intractable regulators I've ever had the misfortune of coming across,' an investor involved in the rescue talks said. 'They have failed in their job. Absolutely, we need intervention from Downing Street.' Another figure close to the planned deal added: 'I think what it takes is the Government and the regulator coming together – it needs the Environment Department, the Treasury, and even No 10 to say, 'what's the least worst outcome here?'' Growing criticism of Ofwat comes just days after the company's largest creditors tabled a proposal that would provide Thames with desperately needed fresh capital and repair its broken balance sheet. However, in return for a proposed £3bn cash injection and more than £2bn of new loans, the consortium of more than 100 creditors is demanding immunity from billions of pounds in future fines – a request the watchdog is reluctant to grant. Creditors have calculated that Thames could be on the hook for more than £1bn in further pollution and environmental failing penalties, The Telegraph understands. In an attempt to persuade Ofwat to soften its stance, creditors are already preparing a second, sweetened bid that could see the consortium willing to offer more cash and write off a larger slug of debt. One FTSE 100 infrastructure fund warned that Ofwat's intransigence could weigh on Labour's attempts to drum up appetite among foreign investors for UK assets. 'There is £500bn of investment that's needed across UK infrastructure that is contingent on stable regulation,' an investor at the fund said. A source close to Thames's creditors said: 'Ofwat is undermining the Government's aim to attract private capital and deliver growth and reform across the water sector.' With the rescue talks at risk of being derailed, Hong Kong's richest man, Li Ka-shing, is demanding to rejoin the auction for Thames. It comes after KKR, the preferred bidder, abandoned its pursuit of the business earlier this month. Mr Li's CK Infrastructure (CKI) Holdings wrote to Sir Adrian Montague, the chairman of Thames Water, urging him to readmit them to the process. However, any such move is expected to be fiercely resisted by creditors who question whether CKI's ties to China will trigger a lengthy investigation under the National Security and Investment Act. It is understood they have already raised such concerns with Ofwat, while also warning about the amount of time needed for CKI to undertake due diligence. A source close to the creditors expressed surprise that ministers were yet to get involved: 'They've got a regulator that continues to care more about showing they can punish this company and throw billions in fines at an insolvent business. That is not going to improve performance for customers.' 'Not been supportive' Another pointed the finger directly at David Black, the Ofwat chief executive. 'It's well known Black has not been that supportive of some of these initiatives,' the source said. A spokesman for the creditors added: 'These investors have the funding and experience required to deliver a transformation which is intended to mark a departure from past failings, creating a 'new' Thames Water that works effectively alongside government, regulators, and customers to deliver for the environment and economic growth.' The institutions behind the plan include Assured Guaranty, Aberdeen Investments, Apollo, Attestor Asset Management, Royal Bank of Canada, Elliott, Prudential, Pimco, Invesco, Silver Point Capital, and Voya Financial. An Ofwat spokesman said: ''Our focus is on ensuring that the company [Thames] takes the right steps to deliver a turnaround in its operational performance and strengthen its financial resilience to the benefit of customers.' Ofwat is 'assessing whether the plans are realistic, deliverable and will bring substantial benefits for customers and the environment,'' they added.
BBC News
32 minutes ago
- BBC News
Reform UK and Tories win Higham Ferrers council by-election
Reform UK and the Conservative Party have picked up more seats on North Northamptonshire Council after a was called in the Higham Ferrers ward after Liberal Democrat candidate John Ratcliffe died prior to last month's elections, which saw Reform UK take overall control of the went to the polls for the rearranged election on Thursday, and the results saw Reform UK's Mark Haddon newly elected, while Conservative councillor Jennie Bone retained her turnout was 31.1%, just below the 31.6% average for the wider North Northamptonshire Council vote. Haddon earned the most votes in the ward with 656, and the 76-year-old told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he was "apprehensive, excited and a little bit shell-shocked" after his who went to school and was married in Higham Ferrers, said it would be his first venture into politics."I considered initially that I'm too old to start a new career, shall we say," he said"It was something I didn't really think I was going to do, but I'd like to think that we can get council finances under control."A lot of what I got on the doorstep was 'We will vote for you so long as you're not Labour or Conservative.'" Bone was elected with 559 votes, just three more than the next Reform UK candidate - Elisa Perna - in results will not materially change the make-up of North Northamptonshire Council, with Reform UK sitting on a comfortable majority from the earlier are now 40 Reform UK, 14 Conservatives, eight Greens, four Labour and one Liberal Democrat and Independent councillor on the Tories had formerly led both North and West Northamptonshire Councils since their inception in 2021. Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
37 minutes ago
- BBC News
Rift between farmers and government remains despite £2.7bn boost
A rift between farmers and the government still exists despite a spending review providing £2.7bn boost to agriculture, a farming leader has told BBC Politics farmer Tom Bradshaw, president of the National Farmers' Union, said the government's changes to inheritance tax for agricultural land will have a "human impact" which is "simply not acceptable"."This is a very real threat to the farming business. While that hangs over the farming industry, this relationship (with the government) will not be repaired," he government said food security is vital and it is taking further action and providing extra funds to support British farmers. Under the government's plans, from April 2026, inherited agricultural assets worth more than £1m, which were previously exempt, will be subject to inheritance tax at 20% - half the usual President Tom Bradshaw said: "At a time when we're increasing our defence spending that tells us we live in a volatile world."The other side is food security. We need to make sure we still continue to invest in this country's food production."He said it is not an "either/or" situation with regards to food or land management."I think they need to prioritise both at a time of global insecurity," he said the government needs to "take the brakes off investment, because farms are investing in reservoirs, buildings and poultry sheds today". "They are committed to food production for the next decade and beyond," he said."The relationship with the government is overshadowed by the budget and the announcement on inheritance tax and yesterday (the spending review) was another missed opportunity for the chancellor to recognise this needed to be changed," he Bradshaw has criticised the "devastating family farm tax which will mean many farming families continue to be left in the lurch, unable to afford the future tax bill".He said there was a rift with the government despite being supportive of spending review and trade deals."On trade policy so far the government has looked after us pretty well," he said."They said they weren't going to cross those red lines on animal health and welfare standards and they have stuck to that." Farming minister Daniel Zeichner MP (Lab, Cambridge) said: "Food security is vital to our national security, which is the foundation of our Plan for Change, and our commitment to farming remains steadfast."That's why we are investing £2.7bn a year into sustainable food production and nature's recovery, with funding for our Environmental Land Management schemes increasing by 150%."However, we must go further to support farmers across the country. "We are slashing costs for food producers to export to the EU, have appointed former NFU president Baroness Minette Batters to recommend reforms to boost farmers' profits, and we're ensuring farmers get a fair share of food contracts for our schools, hospitals, and prisons." BBC Verify Many of the claims from the government have been hotly contested by farmers, and BBC Verify has come under scrutiny over some of the figures it has relied on to try to establish the number of farms impacted by the debate has revolved around estimates provided by farmers' groups, including that the new tax could "harm" up to 70,000 farms over Verify found that the figure was likely to be somewhere closer to the number provided by the government - about 500 estates per groups say the changes have been "built on bad data". The government says it wants to make the inheritance tax system fairer and discourage wealthy people from investing in land solely to avoid the tax. BBC Politics East will be broadcast on Sunday 15 June at 10:00 GMT on BBC One in the East of England, and will be available after broadcast on BBC Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
