The news industry has hit back at a bid by UK universities to exempt themselves from scrutiny under the Freedom of Information Act.

The department of Business, Innovation and Skills is currently consulting on whether universities should be subject to FoI as part of a wider review of the sector.

In December, Press Gazette revealed that the elite Russell Group of universities wants to be exempt from FoI. And Cambridge University claimed that it was not a public body so should be subject to the act.