University of Wolverhampton is accused of EU 'propaganda'

Stone MP Bill Cash and West Midlands MEP Jill Seymour are among Brexit backers that insist the university should be non-partisan in the EU debate.

They have accused university bosses of displaying 'shamelessly manipulative' views and forcing 'propaganda down the throats of its students'.

The university has taken a staunchly pro-Europe stance on the referendum, with vice chancellor Professor Geoff Layer saying a Brexit would 'seriously harm' the Black Country.

In the letter sent out to students, Prof Layer said: "Our University community is made of up of students and staff representing more than 100 nations.

"The University has made a stand in the EU referendum and as a university we believe it is better for all of us to remain.

"The EU has been very supportive of the University and its role. In this century we have received nearly £70 million of project and initiative funding from Europe."

Tory MP Mr Cash, the Parliamentary chairman for the Leave EU campaign in the West Midlands and Staffordshire, said: "The university is wrong to force propaganda down the throats of its students.

"The university talks about the money it has received, without noting that it is our money that has been laundered back through the EU framework.

"Students should remember that youth unemployment in the EU is as high as 60 per cent in some countries. Their futures depend on them making their own decisions and not being misled by the university."

UKIP MEP Mrs Seymour said: "This is yet another example of an organisation with a vested financial interest in Europe making a shamelessly manipulative attempt to sway the referendum.

"For the university to imply that its excellent cross-border research work would cease if we vote to leave the European Union is scaremongering nonsense, without a shred of evidence to back it up.

"The UK has long had a reputation as one of the best countries in the world to study, and there is no reason at all why we would not continue to welcome students from different nationalities and backgrounds when we were outside the European Union."

James Allen, spokesman for The University of Wolverhampton, said: "The email to our students was designed to encourage them to register to vote in the EU referendum.

"This was supported by direct links to voter registration pages and the emphasis on getting students to register and vote, particularly important considering the low turnout levels of 18-24 year olds in the last General Election.

"It is vital that young people take part in the democratic process and in no way was the message designed to influence how students vote – it was simply to inform them of the university's publicly stated position.

"Higher education is about learning from all and working collaboratively. It is not, and never has been, about closing and restricting the frontiers of knowledge, innovation and invention.

"Being a member of the EU has enabled the university to bring an enormous range of benefits to the communities we serve as well as contributing to economic growth locally."