ST ANDREWS University has said it will not strip disgraced Cardinal Keith O’Brien of his honorary degree.

The university considered revoking the 2004 award following a request from a member of staff.

Cardinal O’Brien resigned from the Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh in 2013 after several priests accused him of inappropriate behaviour.

He admitted his sexual conduct had at times “fallen below the standards expected of me’’, and he no longer plays a public role in the Catholic Church in Scotland.

A St Andrews committee said revoking the award would be “no more than an empty gesture”.