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First, there was stunned silence, nervous laughter, then polite embarrassed applause. The august gathering - Campaigning for Modern Universities' first parliamentary reception - included vice-chancellors, MPs, peers and the Education Secretary. The speaker, Karen Wilson, a Sunderland graduate, opted not to talk about her student experiences and lambasted government higher education policy instead. How will ministers protect the integrity of research against commercial pressures? she asked. How will they guarantee quality? Why does the Government advocate smaller class sizes but not smaller seminar groups? As political muggings go, it was ferocious - but the Education Secretary bore the assault with a wry smile.