Knockin Telescope and the e-MERLIN Network

Motion Text

That this House expresses deep concern at the cuts to UKRI funding projected to lead to the closure of the Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank and the e-MERLIN Network, including North Shropshire’s Knockin telescope; notes the extraordinary resolution capabilities that Knockin’s position in the array enables, as well as the key role that the e-MERLIN Network’s radar detections play in national security and defence, reaching back to Jodrell Bank’s role in the Cold War; believes that the planned transfer to the new Square Kilometre Array Observatory is a short-sighted move when compared with the loss of existing capabilities of Jodrell Bank and with it sovereign capability through the e-MERLIN Network, noting that Jodrell Bank was specifically chosen to be the international headquarters of the SKAO due to the role of the Lovell telescope; and urges intervention to protect the future of Knockin telescope, the wider e-MERLIN Network and the research of thousands of scientists.