Charity Commission failed whistleblowers raising sex abuse allegations, says watchdog
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The Charity Commission has failed whistleblowers who raised allegations of exploitation and sexual abuse in the religious aid sector, its oversight body has found.
An investigation by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) has uncovered “significant injustice” and “maladministration” in how the Charity Commission handled complaints about two Christian charities.
The findings have caused an extraordinary row with the Charity Commission, which tried to stop the reports from being published before launching a legal claim against the Ombudsman for acting outside its power.
The Ombudsman responded by invoking what a source there said was a “very rare” power to request Parliament to compel the Charity Commission to comply with the reports’ recommendations.
The permanent secretary at the department of culture and a committee of MPs were briefed about the stance taken by the Charity Commission’s outgoing boss, Helen Stephenson CBE, and chairman Orlando Fraser, who backed a High Court action to judicially review the Ombudsman’s findings.
Pauline Latham OBE, Tory MP for mid-Derbyshire who is supporting Lara Hall, one of the whistleblowers, called the refusal to comply “astonishing”.
After being contacted by The Telegraph, the Charity Commission said it would implement recommendations regarding Ms Hall’s case, including apologising and paying her compensation.
However, the Charity Commission is still persisting with a judicial review of criticism of its handling of a complaint by a second whistleblower about concealment of abuse at a Catholic-run school.
A spokesman for the Ombudsman said: “The Charity Commission failed to properly handle concerns regarding serious safeguarding issues of sexual exploitation and child sex abuse at two separate charities”.
It found that the Charity Commission had failed to follow guidance about complaints and responded with a “lack of openness and transparency”.
Ombudsman Rebecca Hilsenrath said it is “important that the Commission apologises for its mistakes and reassures [both whistleblowers] that it will put things right”.
Ms Hall, 35, had escaped an abusive relationship in Pakistan and worked in Australia as a volunteer for the Essex-based British Pakistani Christian Association (BPCA).
The charity was run by Wilson Chowdhry, who had an affair with Ms Hall while championing her case here and abroad.
Mr Chowdhry, 49, resigned from the charity citing “moral failures”, but was accused of continuing to be involved with the trustees, who turned on Ms Hall when she complained.
Carried on under new name
During the investigation by the Charity Commission, Ms Hall was told that the BPCA was shutting down but it carried on under a new name, with Mr Chowdhry’s wife and former business associates as trustees.
In 2022 the Charity Commission closed the case despite continued concerns about the trustees’ “ability or willingness” to implement measures around safeguarding and conflicts of interest “including personal benefit”.
The Ombudsman upheld Ms Hall’s complaint and criticised the Charity Commission for its approach leading to a “significant and serious exacerbation of her vulnerabilities and emotional ill health”.
Ms Hall said: “I think the whole charity system is broken and open to exploitation. Vulnerable people should feel safe reporting their concerns.”
Damian Murray had accused Catholic priests running a school he attended in the 1970s of concealing abuse.
St Mary’s College in Blackburn, Lancashire, was owned and run by Marist priests through a charity.
Mr Murray, now 65, complained to the trustees about the abuse.
He raised concerns with the Charity Commission, but felt his allegations were not investigated properly.
‘Failed to understand’
The school had closed in 2022 and the abusive priests named by Mr Murray were dead.
Later he raised concerns about the way the Charity Commission had dealt with his complaint.
The Ombudsman found the Charity Commission had “failed to understand and consider all the issues” around Mr Murray’s serious allegations and “could not demonstrate [how] it took account of the types of factors its risk assessment and safeguarding guidance suggest were relevant”.
The Charity Commission continues to contest the findings and recommendations.
Mr Murray said the Charity Commission was “unaccountable, intransigent, incompetent and completely unfit for purpose”.
In a statement, the Charity Commission said: “We accept there are important lessons for the Commission to learn from these cases, including in the way we communicate with those who raise complaints about charities.
“We are concerned that the PHSO’s wider position cuts across our jurisdiction and would undermine our ability to do our job effectively.”
Mr Chowdhry, the British Asian Christian Association and the Marist Fathers did not respond to questions.
