British professor quits as external examiner over passport check

A British academic has rejected an invitation to act as an external examiner because of what he said were unnecessary passport checks that fed into a “culture of fear” created by the Home Office’s attitude towards immigration.

Eric Barendt, emeritus professor of law at UCL, said that he was “amazed and appalled” to be asked to produce a passport, either in person or in the post, so that he could externally examine a PhD at Middlesex University.

Professor Barendt, who previously taught at St Catherine’s College, Oxford, accused Middlesex of “over-compliance” with Home Office policy.

“There does not seem to be a legal duty to check passports, but it provides the university with a defence if they are found to have employed an illegal immigrant,” Professor Barendt said. “They can have no doubt that I have the right to work here, as there are no grounds for believing me to be an illegal immigrant.”

Professor Barendt said that he had refused the offer because he was “staggered by the levels of mistrust” the policy displayed. In the past, “you would trust that an academic employed by another university was legally safe, as it is illegal to employ an illegal immigrant”.

Michelle Ryan, professor of psychology at the University of Exeter, an Australian with indefinite leave to remain (ILR) after living in the UK for 17 years, said that she was asked to provide copies of her passport and visas before acting as an external examiner at another institution. She was also asked to bring the physical documents to the viva.

Professor Ryan said that the university, which she did not wish to name, initially refused to accept the ILR stamp in her passport as valid evidence and asked her to apply for a biometric residence permit, at a cost of £229.

It was only after talking to a senior member of staff that the university allowed the viva to go ahead without the new document.

“I understand that universities are trying to follow Home Office guidelines and are trying to minimise risk. But in doing so they are perpetuating the hostile environment which alienates people who have a right to work in the UK and who wish to contribute,” Professor Ryan said.

A Middlesex spokeswoman said: “Middlesex University follows Home Office guidance when recruiting permanent and temporary staff, including external examiners.”

anna.mckie@timeshighereducation.com