UCU warns against spying on students

The union said the news that thousands of foreign students are being reported to immigration officials each year could make the UK a less attractive place to study for overseas students.

UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'The relationship between staff and students is an incredibly important one that is built on trust. Fears that lecturers are spying on students, whether they are or not, risks jeopardising that relationship.

'Successive governments have seen plans to turn lecturers into spooks overwhelmingly rejected by the academic community and we will continue to oppose such moves, which would make the UK a less attractive proposition to foreign students.'