The ruling
Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition is looking to make cuts of about 25
percent in many government departments in an attempt to tackle a record
peacetime budget deficit. Lord Krebs said the heads of six top universities had
reported that top researchers were already opting to return home or go
elsewhere in anticipation of substantial cuts. "There are already early
warning signs that, even (with) talk of cuts...leading talent is hemorrhaging,
going overseas, or we are failing to attract that talent," Krebs told BBC
radio. Krebs said the government must support scientific research, as other
countries have continued to do, because it contributed to the overall economy.
Four senior researchers have left Oxford and Edinburgh universities to return
to the United States and two candidates have withdrawn their applications for
professorships at the University of Manchester, the Times said.