FOI release

FOI2024/00434: Documents about UK Biobank making data available to China

This request was refused in full, so we didn't provide the information the requester asked for. This may include information where we can neither confirm nor deny that we hold it.

Case reference FOI2024/00434

Received 20 May 2024

Published 8 August 2024

Request

Request Received: 20 May 2024

UK Biobank's website confirms they have recently made data available to China: https://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/enable-your-research/approved-research

Under the Freedom of Information Act, can you please provide:

1) Any emails covering biobank sending British citizens' data to China or other hostile foreign states;

2) Any readouts, notes, or formal minutes of meetings about biobank sending British citizens' data to China or other hostile foreign states;

3) Any slack/teams/whatsapp/text messages concerning biobank sending British citizens' data to China or other hostile foreign states;

4) Any representations received by MRC from biobank about their about continuing to send data to a) China, b) Russia, c) other hostile foreign states, or d) shell companies in other states owned and operated by citizens of "hostile foreign states";

You can restrict this request to material sent/received by either the MRC Senior Leadership Team or the biobank grant / project managers at MRC.

For context of the above terms, the Guardian reports that, "MI5 has warned universities that hostile foreign states are targeting sensitive research" at https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/apr/26/foreign-states-targeting-sensitive-research-at-uk-universities-mi5-warns

Clarification Received: 23 May 2024

You asked "Please could you provide a time-frame for your request and clarify what you mean by 'other hostile foreign states'. It would be helpful if you could name these states."

Time frame: please consider this between 1st October 2023 to 21st May 2024.

"Other hostile foreign states" is a term from Government and it should mean the same thing in the briefing referred to in the Guardian article which one hopes you have access to. In the public domain it is primarily discussed as China and Russia, and can be limited to just those if appropriate for an FOI response. If MRC/UKRI/DHSC used a different list, you're welcome to use that and not specify.

Response

Response Sent: 8 August 2024

Full details of this response are provided in the attached document.

Documents

• FOI_Response_Letter_FOI2024_00434_Redacted.pdf (275.0 KB)

This is UK Research and Innovation's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.

You can browse our other responses or make a new FOI request.