A Cambridge University student has been expelled from the university’s Conservative Association over claims he taunted a homeless man by burning a £20 note.
Pembroke College law student Ronald Coyne – a distant relative of Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister – was filmed in Cambridge on February 2. The video, shared on Snapchat, showed him dressed in white tie and tails, trying to set fire to the money. The footage was published by The Tab, an online student publication.
The allegations are being investigated by university officials.
A statement posted on Cambridge University Conservative Association’s website said the “committee was made aware of the private behaviour of an individual member which we considered to be abhorrent and repugnant. We took immediate action to revoke his membership and expelled him from the association”.
Cambridgeshire Police said it had not received any reports or complaints.
The force said it was not a crime to burn a banknote.
