Lecturers teaching in China claim they were beaten up and received death threats after they exposed the alleged scandal.

Staff at the Sea Rich Sino-British College, in the northeast port of Dalian, claim to have uncovered widespread fraud involving courses run by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).

They claim that students, who paid £1,150, were promised a Higher National Diploma (HND) by local staff whether they passed the exams or not. The students were told that the qualification would guarantee them a job in Britain.

The college is one of about 16 institutions across China offering courses validated by the Glasgow-based exam body.

David Davis, the shadow home secretary, is demanding an investigation into all these courses to ensure that they are not being used as fronts for a racket.

“Tony Blair claimed that he would sort out bogus colleges, but now we hear allegations of another immigration scam,” he said. “Where there is evidence of wrongdoing, it must be investigated.”

The college runs the two-year courses for its sister institution, the Northeast Normal University in Changchun. Staff who threatened to blow the whistle claim they were locked in a college compound by thugs, who then threatened to set fire to it.

Raymond Lamont, the chief executive of the college, claims he was told he would be killed if he caused trouble and says he was held down and repeatedly punched by a senior member of staff at the university.

A team of SQA inspectors is due to fly out to China to investigate the allegations. The British embassy in Beijing has been informed and staff are liaising with the local police.

The allegations are an embarrassing setback for Jack McConnell, the first minister, who went out of his way to promote SQA courses during an official visit to China last autumn.

The Glasgow-based exam body offers a range of courses including HNDs in tourism, hospitality, computing, finance and business studies.

“These are extraordinary allegations and we are treating them seriously. The focus of our investigation is on the protection of the standards of our qualifications,” said an SQA spokesman.

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