At a time when the UK government is casting around for growth, its attitude towards tertiary education is strangely equivocal.

While it recognises that Britain’s universities are a globally competitive export sector capable of making a significant contribution, its actions seem calculated to hinder rather than help their efforts overseas. Immigration policy lies at the root of the problem.

The government cannot be criticised for seeking to apply its own rules in stripping London Metropolitan University of its right to bring in foreign students under a special visa regime. London Met, which has a history of shambolic administration, may well have infringed regulations obliging universities to keep records accounting for their foreign students’ attendance.