Britain's physics and astronomy community is in open revolt over a wave of UKRI funding decisions that scientists warn will cripple world-leading facilities. From 2028, the funding body will cut all £2.8 million of annual support for e-Merlin, a network of seven UK radio telescopes — and the only source of scientific funding for the iconic Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank. Unless alternative cash is found, the dish that famously tracked Sputnik's rocket in 1957 will fall silent.
An open letter to new Prime Minister Andy Burnham — signed by astronaut Tim Peake, physicist Brian Cox and poet laureate Simon Armitage — calls the move "foolish and short-sighted", warning it would "poke out some of the world's clearest eyes on the sky". The cuts also terminate a ~£49 million investment in CERN's LHCb upgrade and a £58.8 million contribution to the US Electron-Ion Collider, closing off alternative funding routes for both. The squeeze comes even as UKRI's overall budget grows, with £1.6 billion earmarked for AI and £1 billion for quantum technologies.
