Durham University accepts Kuwaiti sheik's £2.5 m gift

Durham University has accepted a £2.5 million (US$4 million) donation from a Kuwaiti sheik forced to quit as the country’s prime minister amid corruption allegations, writes Mark Tallentire for The Northern Echo.

Sheik Nasser Al-Muhammad Al-Sabah, a member of Kuwait’s royal family, gave the university the money from his personal fortune to fund research into international security, launching the programme during a visit to Durham earlier this month.

The sheik resigned as prime minister last November, amid questions about the alleged payment of bribes to pro-government MPs. Hundreds of young Kuwaitis took to the streets to demand his exit, with liberal, Islamist and nationalist groups all calling for him to quit. The sheik’s donation has enabled the creation of the Nasser Al-Muhammad Al-Sabah Programme in International Relations, Regional Politics and Security. When it was first discussed last year, a group of unidentified university staff, calling themselves Concerned Academics, spoke out in protest, calling the sheik an autocratic, unelected premier.
Full report on The Northern Echo site