Yes vote would be 'a tragedy for science'

Scottish universities punch above their weight in attracting research funding, says new universities and science minister

Losing Scotland from the UK would be a "real tragedy" for science, the new universities and science minister Greg Clark has said.

Speaking at the British Science Festival at the University of Birmingham, he stressed that Scottish universities and institutions punched above their weight when it came to attracting research funding.

"They do fantastically well," he said. "To disrupt, to rupture what is a successful system would be a real step backwards. I very much hope in the interests of science and the prestige of UK science that they stick with us."

Later speaking to science journalists he admitted that "no one knows" how in practical terms Scotland could be separated from the English research system.

He added: "I had a meeting with the Royal Society of Edinburgh during the summer and there was a publication that the Scottish government produced talking about the magnificent successes of research in Scotland. And it was completely persuasive that things were going very well.

"Why would you want to change that? It seems to me there's no up-side to it," Clark added.