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What refreshing honesty from the head of the Russell Group. The UK's elite universities are unable to compete on a level playing field with devoted but poorly funded researchers at former polytechnics, so they need to be protected from the consequences of such competition in the future. This surely is the sort of message the Russell Group was hoping to promote when it appointed Michael Arthur as its head. Splendid job, sir.

Mike Chopra-Gant, Reader in media, culture and communications London Metropolitan University.