My advisor signed a contract to hire me, but then external funding fell through. Should I force him to take me anyway? I'm in a very strange situation. I have been accepted to a PhD program in the UK which was supposed to be financed by an external company (this was arranged by the advisor). I've already accepted and met my conditional offer and stipend but the external company withdrew their support and I (implicitly) understand from my advisor that without funding he will not be able to take me on.
From what I understand the accepted offer and stipend are considered contractually binding and that the lack of finding is not &quot;my problem&quot; anymore. Is that so? and if so, can I and should I really insist that my advisor take me on regardless of finding new funding sources?
Clarifications:

I have discussed this with him already; he is actively looking for positions for me elsewhere.
My contract does not say anything like &quot;contingent on availability of funds.&quot;

Edit:
My goal was never to litigate the matter or get some compensation out of it but to find a way to do the PhD program. As many said in the comments it is not realistic to force such a relationship even if &quot;i am in the right&quot;. He is already doing his best to find a solution and I will work with him to that end. I guess that if it fails I will simply move on.
Your offer is made by the University, not your advisor. Someone in admissions probably messed it up, but fwiw this is neither your, nor your advisor's problem. As soon as University gave you an offer, and you met the conditions, it's legally binding.
Many other answers are written under assumption that PhD is an employment and hence &quot;probationary period&quot; or &quot;redundancy&quot; can be applied. This is not correct. In the UK, PhD is considered &quot;training&quot;, not employment. The University's offer for you is their promise to provide you with a particular service. Even if the industry partner goes bust (which is not impossible), the University is still under obligation to fulfil their side of the deal. If the University absolutely can not serve you (e.g. the only qualified professor has just left, the lab building collapsed, their license is revoken), they must find another suitable program for you and pay your tuition fees and relocation.
These obligations are not merely ethical, but can be and often are enforced. The relevant regulator in the UK is  the Office for Students. Obviously, I am not a lawyer,  so I can't give you any legally reliable advice. But I believe you are right and OfS will be able to support you if the University disagrees with your arguments in this case.