Helen Stephenson
CEO - Charity Commission

Article 9021

CHARITY COMMISSION ORDERS A CODE RED

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On Wed02jan2019, the then Head of Investigations at the Commission, Harvey Grenville, ordered a Code Red action on the development charity JOLE RIDER.  The action came into immediate effect and suspended the Trustees from acting for the Charity.  It also sabotaged the Trustees' appeal hearing in the First Tier Tribunal scheduled for Feb2019.   

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In effect, the Code Red action was a master stroke by the Commission, as it frustrated due process and saved face.  It came 16months into an Inquiry into the Charity, which had commenced in Sep2017.  No evidence held by the Trustees had been examined or tested and all requests from the Trustees for a meeting with the Commission had either been refused or ignored.

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That was the position in Jan2019 and it remained so up to the point when the Commission finally issued their end of Inquiry Report in Jan2020.  Accordingly, the Commission held no evidence of any wrongdoing by the Trustees.  

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After the Charity closed in May2018, 8mths after the Inquiry commenced,  the Trustees continued to press the Commission to meet with them.  The request to meet was again denied.  Instead, the Commission ordered the Trustees to attend a formal interview in Jul2018, limited to 2hrs.  Being as it was an interview, as opposed to a meeting, there was no allowance for the proper exchange of information or an in-depth examination of the facts.  The Trustees believe that the interview was merely a box-ticking exercise so the Commission's records would show that there had been a face to face meeting with the Trustees.    

Incidently, despite the Trustees' repeated requests, over more than 2yrs, to meet with the Commission, the Commission's order to attend the interview was accompanied by threat of prosecution if the Trustees failed to attend! 

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The Code Red action was interestingly timed as it came:

1.  6mths [a lengthy 26weeks] after the Commission interviewed the Trustees 

2.  10days after the Trustees filed 17 categories of complaints against the Commission  

3.  14days before the Trustees were due to file their Annual Report, publicly criticising the Commission

4.  28days after the Trustees were successful in getting this whistle blowing website republished in full

5.  3weeks before the Trustees' scheduled new appeal hearing against the Commission's restrictive Orders

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See Additional Information below

 More on this story will be published soon.

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CODE RED

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COLONEL N JESSUP
For anyone who hasn't seen the excellent film "A Few Good Men," starring the inimitable Jack Nicholson, here's a short summary:
A "Code Red" is an extra-judicial punishment.
That is, one carried out without due process or legal proceedings.  In this case, by the Commission.  In the film, Colonel Nathan Jessup, played by our Jack at his finest, is proud to have ordered the Code Red.  In Jessup's view the death of a fellow soldier was justified to save face and maintain solidarity.  In the film, it was an act committed at the expense of truth, fairness and justice.

The parallel with the Commission could not be more striking.

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

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The suspension of the Trustees in early Jan2019, decribed here as the Code Red Action, is particularly interesting when viewed in greater context.  That context necessitates holding an awareness of what had happened shortly before, and what was happening at the time, the Code Red was issued.

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Firstly, the only meeting which took place between the Trustees and the Commission only happened in Jul2018.  

See below for further details.

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1.  WHISTLE BLOWING WEBSITE

In Jul2018, the Trustees having become frustrated with the Commission's treatment of them and moreover the Commission's unprofessional and inept conduct, came to the conclusion that the matters were so serious as to warrent a revised approach.  The Trustees knew however that it would be pointless to raise formal complaints with the Commission directly, given what was already known from others about their treatment of complaints.​

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A whistle blowing website was published for the purpose of bringing to the attention of other Charities, their Trustees, the charity sector generally and the wider public, the concerns which the Trustees now held.

When the website was noticed by the Commission, the Trustees received an 8page letter from Harvey Grenville- Head of Investigations.  The letter contained threats of legal action against the Trustees if the webisite remained in place.  The Trustees answered by saying that despite his protestations, all the assertions being made public were true and had been made, as they were, in the public interest.  The Trustees went on to invite Harvey Grenville to meet with them to discuss those assertions and perhaps chart an alternative way forward.

No reply was received.

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In early Oct2018, the website was mysteriously taken off-line by its hosting company.  This was an act resultant from direct intervention by the Commission to suppress publication of the material contained on the website.  Despite the Commission's publicity to ecourage disclosure of wrongdoing, whistle blowing about the Commission's own failings and wrongdoings is clearly not a form of whistle blowing the Commission supports.

 

The action taken by the Commission was a breach of Human Rights as defined by the European Convention.
Article 10 of the CONVENTION on HUMAN RIGHTS is the source of law.  

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Following law, due process, governing procedures and guidelines, is not something the Commission excels at. 

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The website was reinstalled on-line by the hosting company in Dec2019 and remains public - here.

The Code Red was actioned within 1mth of the website being republished. 

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2.  ONE AND ONLY FACE to FACE ENGAGEMENT

Despite repeated and urgent requests, the Commission refused to meet with the Trustees, including its independent partners, to gain a clear understanding of the Charity's history or its current and future positions.  The Commission rebuffed all calls to meet the Trustees - except for one - held on 12jul2018 - which was not a meeting but instead a controlled interview.  The interview was both witnessed by 3rd parties and audio recorded by the Trustees.  Interestingly, the Commission's formal account of the interview was in conflict with the recordings.  Further, the interview was conducted more than 9mths after the Inquiry began, and 4mths before the interview transcript was made available to the Trustees for their record. 

The interview was totally unstructured and was not followed up by the Commission.

Given the lack of correspondence from the Commission thereafter, the interview clearly had no consequence.
The interview appeared to serve one purpose ONLY - to place on record that a face to face meeting happened   

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Extraordinarily, no meetings with the Trustees were ever requested by the Commission! 

The Code Red was actioned almost a full 6mths after that ONE interview. 

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3.  CATEGORISED COMPLAINTS

Despite the Trustees being against filing official complaints with the Commission, they later decided otherwise and did so prompted by two occurances.

• A need to do so in order to open a different channel for redress

• A clear and evidenced fabrication of truth relative to the interview and record thereof 

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The Trustees have filed 27 categories of complaint with the Commission, which all remain outstanding and unanswered.  Each category includes separate and specific complaints, all of which are individually evidenced.  The categories include MISGUIDANCE, CONCEALMENT, NEGLIGENCE, DECEIT, BULLYING and INTIMIDATION.  The first of the 27 categories was FABRICATION and referred specifically to the Commission's false account of the interview.  The complaints identify Janet C Mernane, [lead investigator] and Harvey Grenville together with Commission CEO Helen Stephenson.

Note: The false account of the interview was used later in evidence submitted to Tribunal by the Commission.  

The Code Red was actioned 10days after the first 17 categorised complaints were lodged. 

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4.  TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT

On 18jan2018,  the Trustees filed various reports according to timetable, including the Trustees' Annual Report.  That report, published in full on the Commission website, was severely critical of the Commission.  It described the effect of the Commission's actions and non-actions on the Charity, and more importantly on its beneficiaries.  The  following Trustees' Annual Report, drafted and due to be filed on 18jan2019, was even more critical of the Commission than the previous year's report.  It included additional evidence of the Commission's errant practices. 

In early Jan2019, the Commission clearly expected the Trustees to file their latest report imminently and again include further damaging criticism of their actions and non actions.  The Commission thus acted to block the filing on their own website by issuing the Code Red action against the Trustees.  That action prevented the Trustees from filing their report and thus prevented it from being made public by them.

The Code Red was actioned 14days before the Trustees were to file that second and very public report 

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5.  APPEAL HEARING - FREEZING ORDER

The Trustees had compiled a comprehensive and robust case to have the Commission's Freezing Order on the Charity's bank account overturned in a scheduled Tribunal hearing in Feb2019.  The Trustees were fully expecting to win the Tribunal, at this second attempt.  That view was partly based upon the Commission's failure to investigate, failure to follow due process and failing to submit truthful evidence.  These facts aside, the argument was also compelling.  Expecting this outcome, the Commission acted to sabotage the Tribunal hearing brought against them. 

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The issuing of the Code Red action meant that even if the Trustees won the appeal hearing, as expected, the Commission had effectively blocked their regaining a position of financial control, by removing them as Trustees.​

That financial control was seized by the Commission in Sep2017.  That action was the main direct cause, of the Charity closing in May2018.  Closure was the direct result of the Commission's own misconduct and financial mismanagement.

The Code Red was actioned 3wks before the Trustees were expected to rightfully regain financial control   

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FOOTNOTES

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1.  The Tribunal hearing scheduled in Feb2019 was postponed due the Code Red action, since Judge Alison McKenna recognised the hearing had become futile due to the Commission's action to suspend the Trustees.

The hearing was stayed, pending a separate hearing to challenge the suspension order by the Commission.  The Commission then added to their action - to suspend the Trustees - by issuing an order to disqualify the Trustees from acting for any charity for 12yrs.  The parties decided to consolidate the appeal hearings, now covering both the suspension and disqualification orders and a date in Oct2019 for the hearing was set by Judge McKenna. 

Note: The Trustees withdrew from that appeal hearing in Aug2019.  They did so given their position had been materially compromised due to evidence being excluded from the hearing which the Commission did not want disclosed or discussed.  Judge McKenna ruled to exclude the evidence in the Commission's favour.

The determination by Judge McKenna had made the Trustees' position wholly untenable.
Action against the Commission was thus made futile and withdrawal from the hearing was the only option. 

The result being, that the Commission's evidence - and lack of evidence - went unchallenged.

An email was sent to Judge McKenna giving notice of the withdrawal. See EVIDENCE-TCM   

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2.  In Sep2017 the Charity was on the verge of a major expansion initiative to deliver 5,000 reconditioned bicycles - every year - to schools in remote parts of Africa.  The expansion was the end product of a 2+yr development plan working in association with the Charity's long-standing partners.  The Commission, through its financial mismanagement - supervised by the Lead Investigator [Janet C Mernane] - blocked the delivery of the first 420 bicycles to a new destination and centre in West Africa. 

The 420 bicycles, together with tools, equipment and training, were to be delivered to remote schools in Sierra Leone, with the specific and personal support of the sitting Sierra Leonian President. As a result of the block, 420 children in West Africa are still walking horrendously long distances to school! 

The bicycles were eventually scrapped. 

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For further information on this Charity Case Study, together with copy documents

see

EVIDENCE -TCM 

We do not wish to see other trustees, charities or beneficiaries suffer in the same way