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| Kids Company inquiry 'must not bow to political pressure' | Kids Company inquiry 'must not bow to political pressure' |
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| The founder of Kids Company has expressed concern that an inquiry into the management of the charity will be subject to political pressure. | The founder of Kids Company has expressed concern that an inquiry into the management of the charity will be subject to political pressure. |
| The youth organisation folded amid controversy last August, days after receiving a £3m government grant in a final attempt to keep it afloat. The Charity Commission subsequently launched an inquiry into its “administration, governance and financial management”. | The youth organisation folded amid controversy last August, days after receiving a £3m government grant in a final attempt to keep it afloat. The Charity Commission subsequently launched an inquiry into its “administration, governance and financial management”. |
| Camila Batmanghelidjh said she was grateful to the commission for conducting an “investigation based on evidence”, but added: “I hope that they won’t succumb to any political pressure to present a particular view.” | Camila Batmanghelidjh said she was grateful to the commission for conducting an “investigation based on evidence”, but added: “I hope that they won’t succumb to any political pressure to present a particular view.” |
| When asked to clarify her comment, Batmanghelidjh said: “There have been leaks [from government sources] and difficulties, and at the heart of it is the fact that the leadership of this country ... don’t want to admit to the scale of child abuse and childhood maltreatment in this country and the urgency of having to deal with it.” | When asked to clarify her comment, Batmanghelidjh said: “There have been leaks [from government sources] and difficulties, and at the heart of it is the fact that the leadership of this country ... don’t want to admit to the scale of child abuse and childhood maltreatment in this country and the urgency of having to deal with it.” |
| After a series of media reports about Kids Company’s financial mismanagement, allegations of sexual and physical abuse at the charity emerged, which were later not pursued by the Metropolitan police. | After a series of media reports about Kids Company’s financial mismanagement, allegations of sexual and physical abuse at the charity emerged, which were later not pursued by the Metropolitan police. |
| Speaking publicly for the first time since MPs published a damning report into the organisation, Batmanghelidjh denied Kids Company had collapsed because of lack of funding and said it was the allegations of abuse that caused it to close. | Speaking publicly for the first time since MPs published a damning report into the organisation, Batmanghelidjh denied Kids Company had collapsed because of lack of funding and said it was the allegations of abuse that caused it to close. |
| “We did not fold because of lack of money – people need to be really clear about this. When we closed at the end of July we, in fact, had a year’s money ahead for the first time,” she said. | “We did not fold because of lack of money – people need to be really clear about this. When we closed at the end of July we, in fact, had a year’s money ahead for the first time,” she said. |
| Batmanghelidjh said the charity had been the victim of “malicious media coverage” which contained “powerful elements of distortion”. When we were being accused of sexually abusing children the media put it all over the front pages, but when we were found not to have abused children you could barely find it in the newspapers,” she said. “That is media distortion.” | Batmanghelidjh said the charity had been the victim of “malicious media coverage” which contained “powerful elements of distortion”. When we were being accused of sexually abusing children the media put it all over the front pages, but when we were found not to have abused children you could barely find it in the newspapers,” she said. “That is media distortion.” |
| The report by the House of Commons public administration and constitutional affairs committee published earlier this month criticised Batmanghelidjh’s relationship with the government, saying the charity received more than £42m in Whitehall funding between 1996 and 2015 thanks in part to her winning “unique, privileged and significant access to senior ministers and prime ministers”. | The report by the House of Commons public administration and constitutional affairs committee published earlier this month criticised Batmanghelidjh’s relationship with the government, saying the charity received more than £42m in Whitehall funding between 1996 and 2015 thanks in part to her winning “unique, privileged and significant access to senior ministers and prime ministers”. |
| The report said: “Ms Batmanghelidjh and Kids Company appeared to captivate some of the most senior political figures in the land, by the force of the chief executive’s personality as much as by the spin and profile she generated for the charity. As a consequence, objective judgments about Kids Company were set aside.” | The report said: “Ms Batmanghelidjh and Kids Company appeared to captivate some of the most senior political figures in the land, by the force of the chief executive’s personality as much as by the spin and profile she generated for the charity. As a consequence, objective judgments about Kids Company were set aside.” |
| Batmanghelidjh told BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour: “I think that it’s sad that people think in this day and age that you can mesmerise people. I present arguments that I hope are robust, and people that I deal with, I hope, have the intelligence to scrutinise my arguments and make their own decisions. | Batmanghelidjh told BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour: “I think that it’s sad that people think in this day and age that you can mesmerise people. I present arguments that I hope are robust, and people that I deal with, I hope, have the intelligence to scrutinise my arguments and make their own decisions. |
| “I would put the question to you another way – if I was capable of mesmerising the prime minister of this country, who have you voted for? Because that would be very dangerous.” | “I would put the question to you another way – if I was capable of mesmerising the prime minister of this country, who have you voted for? Because that would be very dangerous.” |
| Labour’s Paul Flynn, one of the MPs behind the report, later admitted to having misgivings about its conclusions and said he believed his fellow committee members had wrongly rushed to judgment. | Labour’s Paul Flynn, one of the MPs behind the report, later admitted to having misgivings about its conclusions and said he believed his fellow committee members had wrongly rushed to judgment. |
| Flynn said in hindsight he would have softened the report’s scathing conclusion that the charity’s governing trustees were to blame for its collapse. His change of heart came following a private meeting with a former trustee – after the report had been published. | Flynn said in hindsight he would have softened the report’s scathing conclusion that the charity’s governing trustees were to blame for its collapse. His change of heart came following a private meeting with a former trustee – after the report had been published. |