London-The London School of Economics has confirmed it is investigating allegations that Colonel Gaddafi’s son plagiarised his PhD thesis. Saif al-Islam studied at the LSE from 2003 to 2008, gaining both a Master of Science degree and a doctorate. But allegations have emerged that he used a ghost-writer, and copied sections of his thesis. In 2009, he pledged a £1.5m donation to the LSE from the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation.

The LSE’s involvement with the Libya prompted student protests last week. In a statement, the university said: “LSE is aware that there are allegations of plagiarism concerning the PhD thesis of Saif Gaddafi. On Monday, LSE director Sir Howard Davies, admitted he felt “embarrassed” by the university’s ties with the family of Colonel Gaddafi.

Sir Howard, who is a former head of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and deputy governor of the Bank of England, said the decision to accept £300,000 from the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation had been debated “extensively” within the LSE. He said the decision to accept research funding from a foundation controlled by Saif Gaddafi had “backfired”. He also expressed regret that he had visited Libya to advise the regime about how it could modernise its financial institutions.