The Charity Commission is “assessing information” about alleged charity law breaches by trustees at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
Bafta trustees might have inadvertently breached charity and company law by accepting free tickets for guests at its award ceremonies, according to The Guardian newspaper.
Michael Pritchett, chair of Bafta’s membership council, told members at the charity’s annual general meeting on Monday that “legal advice obtained at his own expense” suggested trustees who approved the charity’s accounts might have committed the offences.
The charity’s accounts for the years to the end of December 2024 and 2025 stated that “no trustees received any remuneration during the year for their services to the charity”.
Bafta’s governing document also states that “no member of its board of trustees shall be appointed to any office of the academy paid by salary or fees or receive any remuneration or other benefit in money or money’s worth from the academy”.
But Pritchett claimed trustees had received complimentary tickets for themselves and a guest at the awards potentially “for as long as 20 years”, with guest tickets being high-end seats and second tickets selling for £2,000.
“Counsel advises that offences under the Charities Act and Companies Act are likely to have been committed by the trustees who approved those accounts,” Pritchett said.
A spokesperson for the Charity Commission said: “We’re aware of an alleged breach of charity law by Bafta and are assessing the information available to us to determine any appropriate regulatory action or response.
“We can confirm the charity has reported this matter to us, in line with our guidance.”
In a statement, a Bafta spokesperson said its trustees were invited to attend events in a working capacity, representing the charity in an ambassadorial role, and prior to 2025 they could also bring a “plus one” guest to accompany them.
“In 2025 Bafta decided to review its guest tickets arrangements and discontinued the long-standing custom and practice of trustees inviting a plus one,” the spokesperson said.
“The board has since established an independent review group to consider the historic guest ticket arrangement – the review is underway.”