Scientists should use their clout to get a less bad Brexit for all

Europe’s scientific elite say a hard Brexit will damage science. They should be supporting those who face much worse consequences, says Ehsan Masood

Science banners outside the Houses of Parliament — Science is playing a prominent part in debates about Brexit

By Ehsan Masood

There is little doubt that a hard Brexit will be a bad for British and European science. And when this message was conveyed this week by 29 Nobel prizewinners and six Fields medallists in a letter to UK prime minister Theresa May and European Commission president Jean Claude Juncker, you can be certain it reached its intended audience.

Such was the concern inside the UK government that science minister Sam Gyimah took to the radio to reiterate his commitment to finding ways for scientists to …