The concern comes at a sensitive moment for UK research funding. Universities and research councils have faced repeated budget pressures in recent years, and scientists have warned that even relatively modest reductions can have outsized effects, since a single grant often supports an entire research group.

Supporters of continued investment argue that scientific research pays long-term economic and social dividends, from new medical treatments to technological innovation. Losing momentum now, they say, could mean missing breakthroughs that would otherwise have arrived within a few years.

Critics of the funding decisions are calling for clarity from the government and funding bodies about exactly which programmes will be affected, and for a longer-term plan that gives researchers confidence their projects will not be interrupted mid-stream.

No official response detailing the full rationale behind the reductions has yet set out how the government intends to offset their effects. Scientists say they will continue to press for the funding to be restored.

This article is based on limited information currently available; further details about the affected programmes have not yet been published.