A group of politicians have called for the Charity Commission to investigate the charitable think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs.
The Good Law Project, a not-for-profit organisation that uses the law to protect the interests of the public, has sent a letter backed by a cross-party group of politicians including Clive Lewis, the Labour MP for Norwich South, Layla Moran, the Liberal Democrat MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, and Andrew Purkis, a former Charity Commission board member.
The letter claims the think tank falls foul of charity rules around its political campaigning, conducts unbalanced educational research and has inappropriate relationships with its offshoot organisations.
The IEA said the complaint was a “vexatious publicity stunt” that contained “nothing new and little of substance”.
The Good Law Project said the commission made it clear that charities can promote “uncontroversial views and perspectives” and disseminate research that is balanced.
“However, the complainants argue that the IEA promotes fringe views such as there is ‘no sensible scientific objection’ to increasing drilling in the North Sea, healthcare in the UK should be insurance-based and that regulation on disposable vapes should be removed,” it says.
“The IEA has refused to admit who pays for its work, but investigations have revealed some of its funding comes from gas, oil and tobacco.”
The letter says the regulator has received repeated complaints about the IEA and argues that it is time for a formal inquiry.
It comes the day after Orlando Fraser, chair of the Charity Commission, said the regulator would “rarely intervene” when allegations of political bias were made against charitable think tanks.
Moran said: “I am deeply concerned by the evidence suggesting the Institute of Economic Affairs is using charitable funds to finance political campaigning.
“That those funds are being used to undermine the United Kingdom’s commitment to net zero and irrefutable evidence of climate change is even more cause for worry.
“The Charity Commission, which plays an incredibly important regulatory role, would be entirely justified in opening a statutory enquiry and considering regulatory intervention.”
Alyn Smith, the Scottish National Party MP for Stirling and another signatory to the letter, said: “Independent research is important for informing public discourse. Yet when an organisation fails to declare who provides its funding, it necessarily calls into question what their intentions are when it comes to influencing public policy.
“It is surely in all our interests to be well-informed on the topics of the day and the public has a right to know who is backing the IEA’s work so that they can make their own judgements about which policies are in their interest or not.”
Purkis said: “It is unfair to all those genuinely advancing charitable education and abiding by the rules that the IEA, with its political mission to shrink the state, should continue to benefit from charitable status without a searching investigation by the Charity Commission.”
A spokesperson for the Institute of Economic Affairs said: “This complaint is a vexatious publicity stunt. It contains nothing new and little of substance.
“The Charity Commission has been clear that approaching economic and political science from a free market perspective is legitimate and consistent with our status as an educational charity.
“The IEA will not be deterred from its mission to advance the public understanding of economics by political activists with an axe to grind.”
A Charity Commission spokesperson said: “As an independent regulator, we assess all concerns raised with us against our risk and regulatory framework to determine whether there is a role for us.
“The general principles of our regulatory approach towards charitable think tanks were set out by our chair Orlando Fraser in his piece in The Times.”