The UK’s largest relationship counselling charity has fallen into administration and made 80 people redundant “due to the financial climate and the loss of government contracts”.
The crisis faces the central charity, with the 26 independently-run local Relate charities unaffected.
About 200 employees remain in post, although staff have reportedly been told that further rounds of job losses could be forthcoming as a rescue deal is sought.
A report from the Charity Commission concludes that the mother and son trustees of Muffin Pug Rescue were mostly unable to account for almost £600,000 in spending and the charity had to pay back more than £200,000 in Gift Aid that had been claimed in error.
The regulator said there had been serious misconduct and/or mismanagement by Kristine Lovelady and Declan Poole, who were the only two trustees from April 2019 to February 2022, and found numerous instances of non-charitable expenditure made from the charity’s bank account by the pair.
The former England and Arsenal captain Tony Adams will chair the addiction support charity the Forward Trust.
Adams has been in recovery from addiction for 28 years and has spoken openly about his dependency on alcohol throughout his career, which eventually led to him receiving a short prison sentence.
He has been an ambassador for the charity for the past 20 years and succeeds David Bernstein, who is stepping down after a decade in the role.