UK Biobank Data

Lauren Sullivan Excerpts

Thursday 23rd April 2026 Commons Chamber

[Ian Murray]

I do not think the tone of the hon. Gentleman’s question fits the seriousness of this issue. We are yet to get a conclusion from UK Biobank on what the process looked like for the three institutions that have been identified as downloading some datasets to transfer them to the seller, and we will update Members when we are clear on that. UK Biobank has told us quite clearly that that is what has happened.

There are thousands of Chinese researchers working every day on data from UK Biobank and other datasets from across the world, and they have been doing that since 2012 safely and securely. The issue here is that a loophole in the system has allowed datasets to be downloaded alongside the analytical research. If the hon. Gentleman saw some of the advances being made, particularly on Alzheimer’s, he would know that we are working very closely with the research community across the world, from all countries.

As I said to the shadow Minister, the previous suspension of accreditation was for Yale in the United States for misuse of data. Participants know that this research is used globally, and it is right that it is used globally for the advancement of us all. Banning researchers from the site would not be the way in which to advance the outcomes of UK Biobank.

[Dr Lauren Sullivan (Gravesham) (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for his statement. Fundamentally, this is valuable data, and it relies on trust. I therefore welcome UK Biobank’s actions in suspending the agreement with these researchers. Will the Minister provide a commitment and welcome the technical solution for protecting this data? More and more, we are seeing papers published by AI bots, so there needs to be a way to trace back to the evidence used. There needs to be a workaround on the technical support in order to advance medical research. Will the Minister comment on that?

[Ian Murray]

Significant undertakings were given by the chair and board of UK Biobank this week. They have answered all the questions and worked very closely with the Government, the British embassy in Beijing and the Chinese Government to ensure that this instance is resolved as quickly as possible. They have immediately identified the loopholes that enabled the download of the data from the institution, and they are carrying out mitigation work to ensure that that cannot happen again and to tighten up the system. That should happen within weeks, but in the meantime the UK Government insisted that all access to and downloads from it be paused, and the entire system was paused to allow that work to happen. I pay tribute to UK Biobank for the swiftness with which it has done that. To echo the words of the shadow Minister, it has dealt with the issue transparently, and we welcome that—that is what is required in these kinds of circumstances.