clipped from: www.timesonline.co.uk   
David Willetts, the shadow secretary for innovation, universities and skills, show that in 2005-06, 30 Iranians were doing postgraduate degrees in subjects covering nuclear physics and nuclear engineering
“Given that we need to have tougher sanctions against Iran, it does seem extraordinary that the government is not yet stopping Iranians coming here to study nuclear physics. There is legitimate concern about what some students have been studying.”

Britain has previously been a destination of choice for scientists working for hostile governments. Rihab Taha, an Iraqi microbiologist, who studied at the University of East Anglia from 1980-84, later became a key figure in the development of Saddam’s biological weapons programme, earning her the nickname Dr Germ.

Currently, vetting is done only when a university voluntarily informs the government that a candidate from outside the EU has been offered a place to study a sensitive subject.