Sunak’s student visas clampdown continues boom and bust pattern

Move coincides with financial difficulties for universities arising from high inflation and freezing of domestic tuition fees

• Warning of over-reliance on Chinese students

Rishi Sunak may not go down in history as “the man who destroyed UK higher education,” as one former university leader put it, but the prime minister’s sabre rattling on international student visas could end up doing just that.

Sunak’s willingness to clamp down on international student numbers coincides with what one expert called a funding crisis for universities that could undermine the entire sector.