The Charity Commission has opened a compliance case into the Campaign Against Antisemitism.
The commission confirmed that it was “assessing concerns” about the charity, but did not go into further detail about the allegations made.
This is the second time the regulator has opened a compliance case into the CAA.
In 2018, the commission intervened to make the charity re-word a public petition which accused Jeremy Corbyn MP, then leader of the Labour Party, of antisemitism.
The phrase “Corbyn must go” was replaced with the words “Labour must act” after the commission warned that the CAA risked breaching rules designed to ensure charities stay independent from party politics.
Reports in the Guardian newspaper today suggest that the latest case again relates to political campaigning and is a response to complaints made by Jewish Voice for Labour, a network of Jewish Labour party members established while Corbyn was party leader.
The CAA has grown rapidly during the last five years, with income rising from £60,000 in 2017 to £1m in 2021, according to Charity Commission figures.
A commission spokesperson said: “We can confirm that the Commission is assessing concerns raised with us about the Campaign Against Antisemitism.”
The CAA said that there was “no reason to believe that the complaint has any credence or merit” and that it did not expect to face further regulatory action.
A spokesperson for the charity said: “The Charity Commission has told us that it has received ‘correspondence against Campaign Against Antisemitism’ which it is considering and that it has responded with ‘standard lines’ to enquiries.
“The Charity Commission is not therefore investigating Campaign Against Antisemitism and we have no reason to anticipate any regulatory action.
“We assume that the complainant has informed journalists about the existence of the complaint and then encouraged press enquiries to be made of the Charity Commission.”
They added: “Obviously, it is relatively common for charities with a high profile who engage in campaigning work to be subject to complaints when speaking out on issues of importance in accordance with their mission, and we firmly oppose antisemitism wherever it exists, without fear or favour.”