A committee of MPs has launched an inquiry into the row between the Charity Commission and the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee said its inquiry would examine two reports by the PHSO in September relating to the commission’s handling of two separate safeguarding complaints.
Lara Hall and Damian Murray raised separate safeguarding concerns with the Charity Commission in 2019 and 2018 respectively.
Hall complained that she had been sexually exploited by a trustee while volunteering for a charity, while Murray’s concerns regarded allegations of possible concealment of historic child abuse.
The PHSO investigated the commission’s handling of these cases and in 2024 found maladministration, noting the regulator failed to provide documented risk assessments or show that relevant considerations were taken into account.
The commission conducted internal reviews following the ombudsman’s report, but the PHSO issued a letter in 2025 stating that the injustice to the complainants remained “unremedied” and outlining the ombudsman’s intention to lay special reports before parliament.
The Charity Commission launched a legal challenge last year against the PHSO’s decision that it failed to implement recommendations from two cases.
The regulator said it believed the PHSO’s recommendations forced it to act beyond its legal remit and undermined its ability to regulate independently.
But in March, the High Court rejected the regulator’s claim on grounds including that the claims were “academic” and that the legal merits of the case were unarguable.
A Charity Commission spokesperson said the regulator welcomed the PACAC’s consideration of the two PHSO reports.
“We have long accepted that there were important lessons for the commission to learn from these sensitive cases, and we have apologised and paid compensation to each complainant,” the spokesperson said.
“In light of the PHSO reports and court decision, we are commissioning an independent external review to examine how we handled the two cases.
“This will help ensure the commission continues to improve its processes for the benefit of future complainants and more effective regulation of the sector.”
Written evidence submitted by the commission to the inquiry says it was commissioning a “retired member of the senior judiciary” to lead the review.
“Such a review will provide an external perspective on our regulatory judgements in closing the two cases, and we hope provide greater assurance to the complainants, PHSO and parliament of the commission’s commitment to remedying the remaining injustice,” it says.
The regulator said it was “engaging collaboratively” with the PHSO “to reach a mutual understanding of our respective roles, informed by the High Court’s judgement, to reset our organisational relationships and reduce the prospect of future disagreements over remit”.
Asked who had been commissioned to chair the inquiry, a spokesperson for the regulator said: “We are working at pace to commission an independent external review team led by a retired member of the senior judiciary.
“Once the team is commissioned, we will inform the complainants and the two charities to which the original complaints related.”
The spokesperson said a report by the independent review team would be published at the conclusion of the review.
The PHSO declined to comment.