The chief executive of Acevo has today accused the Home Secretary of using the Charity Commission’s statutory inquiry into Care4Calais to make “an irrelevant and politically motivated point about charitable purpose”.
Following the publication of the regulator’s statutory inquiry findings into the refugee charity yesterday, Suella Braverman told The Telegraph newspaper that some charities “are comprised of politically motivated activists masquerading as humanitarians”.
She said: “As with certain immigration lawyers, it’s clear that some charities and civil society groups are actively undermining efforts to curb illegal migration.
“They form part of an establishment committed to ever-increasing migration, with no regard for the will of the British people. These groups are comprised of politically motivated activists masquerading as humanitarians. It is a con. But the British public won’t be fooled.”
In a statement, Ide, who leads the charity leaders body Acevo, said the organisation believed in the importance of a well-regulated charity sector and would always support the Charity Commission’s work in holding charities to account for effective governance.
But she described Braverman’s comments as “deeply insulting”.
Ide said: “It would appear that the Home Secretary has chosen to use a Charity Commission inquiry into the appropriate governance of a charity to make an irrelevant and politically motivated point about charitable purpose.
“It is clearly laid out within regulation that campaigning and political activity can be ‘legitimate and valuable activities for charities to undertake’ and it is a legal requirement that political campaigning or political activity must be undertaken by a charity only in the context of supporting the delivery of its charitable purposes.”
Ide added that charities working in the refugee and migrant sector have a legitimate right to campaign and to seek to influence government policy in these areas.
In June last year Care4Calais was one of a number of charities that successfully grounded the first flight that was due to deport a number of asylum-seekers to Rwanda under a government scheme spearheaded by Braverman. The charity also pursued a judicial review against the government’s decision.
In its inquiry report, the commission ruled that the legal action was acceptable political activity and was in line with its guidance.
Ide said: “For any politician to suggest that by carrying out that work in line with their charitable objects, as agreed by the Charity Commission, they are acting against the interests of the British public and in some way ‘masquerading as humanitarians’ is not only deeply insulting to committed professionals and volunteers in our sector, but also clearly demonstrates that some in our political system would seek to encroach on and limit our sector’s legally defined rights.”
She said Acevo was pleased to see the chair of the Charity Commission, Orlando Fraser, had “reiterated his determination that the commission will not be influenced by political debates or seek to prevent charities from furthering their purposes in line with the law set down by Parliament.
“At Acevo we will continue to robustly defend the rights given to our sector by law.”