The bitter feud between dons at Oxford about reforms to the university's management has spread to Cambridge amid fears the university will be left isolated if plans to bring outside business people on to Oxford's executive body are agreed by academics at a vote later this month.

A public letter to be published later this week from a group of 40 Cambridge academics will warn that the two universities' status as "self-governing institutions" is at stake and that if Oxford supports the measure its famous rival will have to follow suit.