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Universities are in the grip of oil companies and are being used to fuel their profits rather than to solve major public problems such as climate change, says a report launched this week. The New Economics Foundation, an independent think-tank, found that universities conduct ?67 million worth of research a year for the oil and gas industries.

Although two-thirds of this cash comes from public funds, to work benefits the petroleum industry, not the environment. Cash-strapped universities found the offers of new buildings, equipment and sponsored staff posts irresistible.