LONDON - More than 20 projects at Russell Group institutions, an association of 24 leading universities in Britain, have been halted following the withdrawal of US funding, local media reported Wednesday.

At least nine research projects at Russell Group universities have received formal stop notices from the US government, according to Research Professional News (RPN), a London-based outlet.

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These notices, requiring a halt to work due to funding suspension, have resulted in either grant cancellations or suspensions at five Russell Group institutions.

Information requests submitted by RPN to all Russell Group institutions revealed that a further 14 projects lost funding after receiving similar notices from their US collaborators.

One researcher whose project was delayed told RPN that they "felt like their funding had been used as a pawn."

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In some instances, British universities were notified by US-based lead researchers who had awarded funding to their British collaborators, only to later inform them that the grants had been terminated.