Bournemouth University said it ‘would scrutinise the source of any money’ in the wake of the donations scandal at the London School of Economics (LSE).

The universities sector has been under investigation since it emerged the LSE accepted £1.5m from a foundation controlled by Colonel Gaddafi’s son.

Sir Howard Davies resigned as LSE director on Thursday and said accepting the money was a “mistake.” £300,000 had been received.

A spokesman for Bournemouth University said it did not receive much funding from overseas but the main source was the European Union.

They said: “We would always consider funding from overseas but would do our best to scrutinise the source of any opportunities presented.

“We also have a growing network of alumni around the world who could, in future, offer their financial support which would also be very welcome.”

• Does Bournemouth have a surprising link to Libya’s dictator, or is it an urban myth?

The story that Muammar Gaddafi was once a language student in Bournemouth has been a persistent rumour in the town for decades.

In 1986, the principal of King’s School of English told the Echo: “All we can say is that a generation of Libyan students came to me saying ‘Our Colonel Gaddafi studied at King’s’.”

The school’s records showed a Gadfai or Qquaddafi took a course in 1964, but had a different first name. Gaddafi is known to have studied English and communications at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, so could have spent time in Bournemouth first.

Today, former staff in the town’s language schools remain unable to finally resolve the issue.