The National Trust has hit back at a “paid-for” campaign group that the charity says is seeking to influence its governance.
The charity accused Restore Trust, a private company that this weekend accused the National Trust of “forays into controversial social activism”, of spreading misleading information about its work.
In an opinion piece published by The Telegraph newspaper on Saturday (£), Zewditu Gebreyohanes, director of Restore Trust, claimed the National Trust had shown a “dismissive and patronising attitude towards volunteers – without whom the trust could not exist – including through the imposition of compulsory ‘everyday inclusion’ training, and the partial or full closure of a number of sites bequeathed to the trust on the understanding that they would be accessible to the public for posterity”.
Gebreyohanes called on National Trust members to back her company’s resolutions at the charity’s upcoming annual general meeting.
One resolution demands “the establishment of an independent ombudsman which would ensure that the National Trust remains accountable to its supporters”.
Gebreyohanes said that, by ruling on individual complaints about the trust, an ombudsman would have greater powers to oversee the charity’s work than the Charity Commission.
In a statement, the National Trust said: “Restore Trust is a private company that aims to influence the National Trust’s council and decision-making, and has espoused a range of misleading and inaccurate views.
“The National Trust works well with a range of supporter groups and critics and has done so for decades. However, these groups have always been voluntary without any influence from the private sector.
“Our council is elected by our members and by other charities who have a stake in the trust’s work. Until now, there has been no instance of paid-for campaigns to influence the charity’s decisions or get individuals onto our governing bodies.
“We have a long, proud tradition of openness and healthy democratic processes underpinning our governance, and this will continue.”
The statement follows a letter from the National Trust published in yesterday’s Telegraph, which pointed out that the Charity Commission already has the power to investigate individual complaints and called for the Restore Trust to publish its own accounts.
Asked to respond to the National Trust’s comments, a spokesperson for Restore Trust said: “We will file our accounts with Companies House as required when they become due.
“The accusation does not make sense.”
– The headline and some text in this article was amended on 26 August 2022 after the National Trust amended its statement before publication but this had not been reflected in the piece.