RUTHFULLY YOURS

Senior members of the government of Bashar al-Assad helped raise £105,000 through a UK-registered charity called the Asfari Foundation, which was the only external funding the centre received.

Key to the process was the help of the Syrian ambassador to Britain, Sami Khiyami, and President Assad’s father-in-law Fawaz Akhras, a cardiologist based in the UK.

Among the university’s alumni are Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Following questions from the Guardian newspaper, the university said it would review the work of the centre “in view of significant international concerns about recent events in Syria” and “to ensure its high academic standards are maintained”.

Mr Khiyami is a member of the board of the Centre for Syrian Studies, as are other individuals linked to Mr Assad’s regime.

An estimated 450 people have been killed in Syria in recent weeks during an ongoing pro-democracy campaign.

Niall Scott, a spokesman for the University of St Andrews, said: “The CSS is an independent academic centre established to undertake research on contemporary Syria, its role in the modern world and economic and political reform in that country.

“It was established with the assistance of a £105,000 donation from the Asfari Foundation, a recognised UK charity, in 2007. This is the only external funding the centre has received. The salaries of CSS staff are paid directly by the university.

“Its Board of Advisers comprises a cross-section of Syrian interests and viewpoints.”

St Andrews is the latest university to be linked to questionable regimes, after the London School of Economics disclosed it had received £1.5million donation from the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation.

Colonel Gaddafi’s second son, Saif al-Islam, studied at the LSE, gaining both a Master of Science and a doctorate.