University ban ‘bad for UK’

Banning a university from recruiting non-European Union students creates “an appalling image” of Britain around the world, MPs heard yesterday.

London Metropolitan University was stripped of its highly trusted sponsor status last week after the UK Border Agency said it failed to monitor students’ attendance. The decision, which removes London Met’s right to sponsor students from outside the EU, means it can no longer authorise visas and could leave more than 2,000 undergraduates facing deportation. The government defended the move, but Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn yesterday claimed it would deter foreigners from studying in the UK.