OXFORD scientists gave a cautious welcome to a Government bid to reform physics and astronomy funding, but said there was ‘no hope’ for jobs and research projects hit by cuts.

Brian Foster, Professor of Particle Physics at Oxford University, welcomed last week’s announcement by Science Minister Lord Drayson, a former Oxford entrepreneur, of action to mitigate the effects of the falling pound.

The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), which oversees physics and astronomy funding, is pulling Britain out of 25 international projects to cope with a £40m shortfall.

Oxford physicist Prof Roger Cashmore, principal of Brasenose College, said the cuts were damaging “areas of high excitement which draw young people into science, which is vital for the UK’s future”.

He said the crisis was exacerbated by a shortfall in funding for the multi-million pound Diamond Light Source at Harwell.

Lord Drayson promised to make other bodies such as the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Medical Research Council contribute to Diamond.

The cuts mean research studentships and fellowships will be cut by a quarter over the next five years, and Prof Foster said his department had lost several dozen jobs over the past six years.

“People were on fixed contracts so they would have gone anyway, but there are many who are leaving the field or going elsewhere.”

Projects being axed include the Gemini space telescopes in Hawaii and Chile. Prof Foster said the decision meant the UK’s Gemini project office in Oxford would close.

Dr Simon Calcutt, of Oxford University, was one of six scientist who wrote to The Times protesting at the axing of the UK’s contribution to the Cassini space satellite, which discovered ice volcanoes on Saturn’s moon.

UK-led instruments in orbit around the planet will now be abandoned. He pointed out that the decision was made at the same time as a Government push to boost Britain’s space industry with a new agency at Harwell.

“At the same time that a new UK space agency is about to be created, the STFC is breaking obligations to international partners and undermining the UK’s future position in multinational space projects,” he said.

The falling pound has also increased Britain’s contribution to the Large Hadron Collider at Cern in Switzerland and the European Space Agency (Esa).

Lord Drayson said the new Harwell agency would handle Esa subscriptions in future.

He said: “There is no doubt STFC faced a difficult situation.

“A lot of work has gone in to finding ways of preventing such pressures rearing their heads again.”

Prof Foster welcomed his announcement, but said: “This doesn’t help with the current disaster. There is no hope on the horizon and no new money.”