Information released today by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has revealed that the University of Cambridge indirectly received £2 million between 2010 and July 2012 for research carried out into technologies which contribute to the development of nuclear weapons. The private consortium, the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE), is part of a "strategic alliance" network with 50 leading UK universities, five of which receive funding directly.

AWE runs two nuclear development facilities in Berkshire on behalf of the MoD. These facilities are backed up by research from the 50 universities involved. The five universities which receive direct funding from AWE for their research are the University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, the University of Bristol, Herriot-Watt University, and the post-graduate research institution, Cranfield University. The money received by these universities funds their research in advanced computing, hydrodynamics, materials sciences and plasma physics  – all of which may contribute to future nuclear weapons designs. 

Imperial College London, has received the greatest share of this funding  – a total of £7.7 million – whereas Cambridge has seen £2 million of investment in the Cavendish Laboratory, part of the Department of Physics. AWE is also known to finance a professorship in the Cavendish Laboratory. 

This information has been released after Freedom of Information requests were put to the MoD and the universities involved by two campaign groups calling for nuclear disarmament – the Nuclear Information Service (NIS) and Medact, an organisation consisting of health professionals. The report compiled by these groups, to be released tomorrow at University College London, claims to be the first to reveal the systematic links between the nuclear weapons industry and British universities. 

Speaking to the Guardian, the director of NIS, Pete Wilkinson claimed that the report supports the group's belief that "Work which will allow the UK to retain and develop its nuclear weapons over the long term has no place on the campus." He has also urged a more ethical approach for universities when dealing with private consortiums such as AWE: "Our report aims to warn them of the risks of being seduced into murky waters by the lure of AWE's cash."

However, AWE has been quick to defend its "strategic alliance", with a spokeswoman explaining that "The UK government has made clear its policy on maintaining the nuclear deterrent. AWE's technical outreach programme supports this and follows this declared government policy." The consortium insists that all work undertaken by their university partners conforms to national and their own codes of conduct. 

In a statement released today, the University of Cambridge has also defended its involvement. A spokesman added: "Everything we do with them is basic research to assist the AWE in its roles of ensuring the safety of the nuclear armament stockpile and as the UN agency responsible for upholding the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty." The university has stressed the fact that the Cavendish Laboratory has been working alongside AWE for over 30 years. Other universities involved with AWE, including Imperial College, London, have drawn attention to the 'blue sky' nature of this research, which is not directly feeding into current weapon designs. 

Arsalan Ghani, a third year PhD student at the Department of Engineering, drew a link between these revelations and government funding cuts: "This is a total shame. Rather than developing teaching and research practice that benefit living-beings and the environment, unfortunately, we are becoming a part of global destruction machinery. When government funds are cut, we will always seek unethical avenues for money. Precisely, for this reason, we should strongly oppose cuts in higher education and research."