The Council for the Defence of British Universities was established in November 2012 by sixty-six Founding Members.

Their number includes a dozen past and current presidents of Britain’s foremost learned societies − the British Academy, the Royal Society of London, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and the Learned Society of Wales − eight members of the Order of Merit, nineteen members of the House of Lords, Nobel prize winners, a Fields medalist, a former Poet Laureate, former Vice-Chancellors and cabinet ministers, major literary figures, and several of the most familiar public faces of science and scholarship.

• Sir John Arbuthnott, FRSE, FMedSci, MRIA
• Sir Michael Atiyah, OM, FRS
• Sir David Attenborough, OM, CH, CVO, CBE, FRS
• Alan Bennett
• Lord Bew, MRIA
• Professor Colin Blakemore, FRS, FMedSci, FIBiol, CBiol
• Lord Bragg, Hon. FRS, Hon FBA
• Dame Antonia Byatt, DBE, FRSL
• Professor Sir John Cadogan, CBE, FRS, FRSE, PLSW
• Professor Richard Carwardine, FBA, FLSW
• Rev Professor Owen Chadwick, OM, KBE
• Professor Sir Philip Cohen, FRS, FRSE
• Professor Stefan Collini, FBA
• Professor Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL
• Baroness Deech, DBE
• Professor David Dilks, FRSL
• Professor Marcus du Sautoy, OBE
• Professor Ronald Dworkin, Hon QC, FBA
• Professor Sir David Edward, KCMG, PC, QC, FRSE
• Frank Field, PC, MP
• Michael Frayn, C.Lit
• Rt Rev Professor The Lord Harries of Pentregarth, FRSL, Hon FMedSci
• Lord Hennessy of Nympsfield, FBA
• Professor Sir Deian Hopkin
• Professor Sir Michael Howard, OM, CH, CBE, MC, FBA
• Professor Sir Tim Hunt, FRS, FMedSci
• Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys, FRS
• Sir Simon Jenkins, FRSL, FSA
• Professor Colin Jones, FBA
• Baroness Kennedy of the Shaws, QC
• Professor Sir Ian Kershaw, FBA
• Sir Aaron Klug, OM, FRS
• Lord Krebs, FRS, FMedSci
• Dr Peter Lawrence, FRS
• Lord Mackay of Clashfern, KT, PC, FRSE
• Professor Margaret MacMillan, FRSL
• Professor Sir Michael Marmot, FRCP, FMedSci, Hon FBA
• Professor David Marquand, FBA
• Lord May of Oxford, OM, AC, FRS, Hon FREng, Hon FRSE
• Professor Andrew Miller, CBE, FRSE
• Lord Morgan, FBA, FLSW
• Sir Andrew Motion, FRSL
• Dame Jinty Nelson, DBE, FBA
• Sir Paul Nurse, FRS
• Dame Bridget Ogilvie, AC, DBE, FMedSci, FRS, FAAS
• Lord Pannick, QC
• Professor Sir Roger Penrose, OM, FRS
• Lord Rees of Ludlow, OM, FRS
• Sir Duncan Rice, FRSE
• Professor Sir Adam Roberts, KCMG, PBA
• Professor Quentin Skinner, FBA
• Professor the Lord Smith of Clifton
• Professor Christopher Smout, CBE, FBA, FRSE
• Lord Sutherland of Houndwood, KT, FBA, FRSE
• Professor Sir Peter Swinnerton-Dyer, KBE, FRS
• Professor Sir John Meurig Thomas, FRS, Hon FREng, Hon FRSE, FLSW
• Sir Keith Thomas, FBA, FLSW
• Professor Wynn Thomas, OBE, FBA, FLSW
• Claire Tomalin, FRSL
• Sir John Tusa
• Professor Sir Brian Vickers, FBA
• Lord Waldegrave of North Hill, PC
• Baroness Warnock, DBE, Hon FBA
• Sir David Watson
• Professor Sir David Weatherall, FRS, FMedSci
• Lord Woolf, PC, Hon. FBA
• Professor Sir Tony Wrigley, FBA

Back to Top