ONE of Britain’s top universities has received millions of pounds from arms companies in spite of its own ethical investment policies, a student who made this discovery via a freedom of information (FOI) request said yesterday.

PhD student and anti-arms campaigner Elliot Murphy spoke of his shock at finding that University College London (UCL) had gained £3.6 million from weapon sellers for various research projects.

The school pledged to divest from arms firms in 2009, pushed by a two-year campaign by Disarm UCL and revelations that it held over £1.5 million in stocks in weapons manufacturers Cobham Plc and Smiths Group.