Libya: LSE head resigns over links to Gaddafi regime

Sir Howard Davies stepped down saying it had been a mistake to accept £300,000 research funding from a foundation controlled by Muammar Gaddafi‘s son, Saif Gaddafi.

He said he made a “personal error of judgement” in travelling to Libya to advise the regime.

An investigation has been launched into the London School of Economics‘ links with Libya as a result of the resignation. Led by former Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales Lord Woolf, it will scrutinise particularly the LSE’s ties with Saif, who studied for an MSc and PhD there.

There are claims he plagiarised elements of his PhD thesis.

‘Difficult to defend’

In a statement, Sir Howard, a former head of the Financial Services Authority and Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, said: “I have concluded that it would be right for me to step down even though I know that this will cause difficulty for the institution I have come to love. The short point is that I am responsible for the school’s reputation, and that has suffered.

The short point is that I am responsible for the school’s reputation, and that has suffered. Sir Howard Davies

“I advised the council that it was reasonable to accept the money and that has turned out to be a mistake. There were risks involved in taking funding from sources associated with Libya and they should have been weighed more heavily in the balance.

“Also, I made a personal error of judgment in accepting the British Government’s invitation to be an economic envoy and the consequent Libyan invitation to advise their sovereign wealth fund. There was nothing substantive to be ashamed of in that work and I disclosed it fully, but the consequence has been to make it more difficult for me to defend the institution.”

Sir Howard, who has been director of LSE for eight years, will remain in the role until a replacement can be found.

On Friday, Channel 4 News revealed that Colonel Gaddafi gave a satellite address to an event at the LSE last December. Among those attending was Tony Blair’s “Third Way” guru – Lord Giddens – a former LSE director.

Dr Alia Brahimi – a junior LSE research fellow – stood in for Sir Howard Davies to introduce Gaddafi, referring to him as “brother leader” and presenting him with an LSE cap at the end of his speech.

Dr Brahimi, whose research was funded by Saif al-Gaddafi’s donation, said in a statement that she very much regretted allowing herself to become involved in the event.

“As the only scholar working on Libya at the LSE I was asked to step in at very short notice…My words were largely scripted and I was told immediately before the event… that the speaker would only answer to ‘Brother Leader’. I am devastated by the impact of my decision,” she said.

The LSE students organisation called for other members of the LSE Council to resign for accepting what they term “blood money”.

FactCheck investigates the mystery over Saif Gaddafi's LSE thesis

FactCheck has just finished poring over Saif's 400-odd page doctorate, and it certainly gives a different perspective on the dictator-in-waiting's personality.

The man who was last week filmed brandishing a Kalashnikov and promising his supporters more weapons in their brutal efforts to put down Libya's insurrection emerges as a Jekyll-and-Hyde figure with a passionate interest in democracy and civil society.

He's apparently a fan of the libertarian Guardian journalist George Monbiot, whose work he quotes at length.

Saif draws extensively on the work of such philosophical heavyweights as Kant, Hume and Aristotle.

It's evidence of a towering intellect at work - an aspect of Saif's personality we know escaped people who met him and even tried to teach him.

As Channel 4 News reported today, the economist John Christensen was approached to help the dictator's son with his studies shortly after he arrived in the UK.

In his online blog, Mr Christensen recalls: "Saif was not, how to say this politely, the brightest of students. Not only was he totally uninterested in economics, he lacked the intellectual depth to study at that level, and showed no willingness to read let alone do course work.

"Worse, our tutorials were endlessly interrupted, either by the constant comings and goings of his retainers, or by his mobile phone, which rang every two or three minutes."

He adds: "Without making it totally explicit, Mr Qadafi was expecting me to write his essays for him, and presumably to carry this through to preparing his thesis. I was not prepared to do this."

Read FactCheck: Saif Gaddafi: Genius or fraud?

Investigation

A key part of the inquiry will be the financial links between LSE and Libya.

Lord Woolf is expected to investigate the acceptance of a £1.5 million donation from the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation (GICDF) in 2009, £300,000 of which has been received so far.

Channel 4 News Who Knows Who looks at Saif Gaddafi's links with the LSE

Sir Howard has said that half of the money received has been spent on research related to North Africa and the development of democracy and civil society there, with the rest now being put into a scholarship fund.

A further £2.2 million contract was also set up between LSE and Libya’s Economic Development Board, £1.5 million has been received for the training of Libyan civil servants and professionals. Out of the contract, £20,000 has also been paid out for the tuition of the head of the Libyan Investment Authority.

Other issues to be explored include the fee of $50,000 dollars (£30,717) paid by Libya to LSE in 2007 for Sir Howard’s financial advice, and the acceptance of a £22,857 award from charity GICDF to allow academic speakers to travel to Libya.