Oxford, Cambridge and more than 50 other UK universities have tumbled down the global rankings amid funding and free speech crises.
The respected Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings demoted the majority of our institutions, saying they are not improving as fast as those in other countries.
It comes as a poll found a fifth of academics around the country said they did not feel 'free' to discuss controversial topics such as gender.
Of the 90 UK universities ranked in the survey, published today, 54 institutions — 61 per cent – slipped down, while only 24 improved and 11 stayed the same.
Oxford slipped from third place to fourth in the world, while Cambridge slipped from fifth to sixth.
