UK immigration rules too strict, says Nobel prize winner
Britain must loosen its immigration policy if it wants to 'punch above its weight' in science, says John O'Keefe
Nobel Prize winner John O'Keefe warned that Britain's restrictive attitude to immigration could damage its ability to attract top scientific talent into the country.
O'Keefe, who has dual British and American citizenship, was part of a three-person team awarded the Nobel prize for medicine yesterday for their discovery that a part of the brain acts as an internal GPS system, helping us to navigate.
Professor O'Keefe said that Britain's immigration policy was "a very, very large obstacle" to Britain attracting the best young scientists hoping to live and work in the UK, and could stand in the way of important research.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
O'Keefe moved to University College London after beginning his career in Canada.
As part of his new role as the head of the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre, a new research centre for work on neural circuits and behaviour at the university, O'Keefe will have to recruit 150 neuroscientists, and he says he expects immigration rules to be a "large obstacle" in that task.
"I am very, very acutely aware of what you have to do if you want to bring people into Britain and to get through immigration," O'Keefe said. "I'm not saying it's impossible, but we should be thinking hard about making Britain a more welcoming place."
David Cameron has set a target of reducing net migration to less than 100,000 by 2015, while Home Secretary Theresa May has spoken about bringing it to tens of thousands, the BBC reports.
O'Keefe said science must be allowed to continue its work unhindered by national borders. "Science is international, the best scientists can come from anywhere, they can come from next door or they can come from a small village in a country anywhere in the world, we need to make it easier," he said.
"Britain punches way above its weight in science and I think we need to continue to do that and anything that makes it easier to bring scientists in will be very welcome."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Cicada-geddon: the fungus that controls insects like 'zombies'
Under The Radar Expert says bugs will develop 'hypersexualisation' despite their genitals falling off
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
'Voters know Biden and Trump all too well'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Is the Gaza war tearing US university campuses apart?
Today's Big Question Protests at Columbia University, other institutions, pit free speech against student safety
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Will Aukus pact survive a second Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question US, UK and Australia seek to expand 'game-changer' defence partnership ahead of Republican's possible return to White House
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
It's the economy, Sunak: has 'Rishession' halted Tory fightback?
Today's Big Question PM's pledge to deliver economic growth is 'in tatters' as stagnation and falling living standards threaten Tory election wipeout
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Why your local council may be going bust
The Explainer Across England, local councils are suffering from grave financial problems
By The Week UK Published
-
Rishi Sunak and the right-wing press: heading for divorce?
Talking Point The Telegraph launches 'assault' on PM just as many Tory MPs are contemplating losing their seats
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet, The Week UK Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
How the biggest election year in history might play out
The Explainer Votes in world's biggest democracies, as well as its most 'despotic' and 'stressed' countries, face threats of violence and suppression
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Good democracies include their poorest citizens. The UK excludes them'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published