Rowntree trust asked to explain grant to Irish group

The charity watchdog is demanding an explanation from the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust over claims that it gave £275,000 to an organisation linked to a banned Irish republican group.
By The Newsroom
Published 29th Jul 2018, 19:15 BST
Updated 29th Jul 2018, 20:17 BST
Michelle Russell, the Charity Commissions Director of Investigations, Monitoring and Enforcement.Michelle Russell, the Charity Commissions Director of Investigations, Monitoring and Enforcement.
Michelle Russell, the Charity Commissions Director of Investigations, Monitoring and Enforcement.

The Quaker trust’s website shows a grant of £149,915 to Teach Na Failte in November 2014 and another of £125,000 in March last year.

According to The Times, the organisation is linked to the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA), a paramilitary splinter group responsible for some of the most infamous attacks of the Troubles, including the killing of Conservative MP Airey Neave in 1979.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The Charity Commission is seeking a response from the Rowntree trust to the claims made in the paper. Michelle Russell, the commission’s director of investigations and enforcement, said: “Our guidance makes clear that charities need to take steps to carry out appropriate due diligence on organisations applying for grants, must ensure grants are only for activities and outcomes that further the charity’s purposes and decisions made are in charity’s best interests.

“Charities should be able to explain and justify their funding decisions. We have asked the charity to do this.”

The commission added that it would “not hesitate” to take action if needed.

It previously stepped in to urge the Rowntree trust – which is in no way connected with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation –to stop funding the controversial advocacy group Cage following a public outcry over Islamic State killer “Jihadi John” in 2015.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Cage’s then research director Asim Qureshi claimed the executioner – widely identified as London student Mohammed Emwazi – was an “extremely kind” and “extremely gentle” man.

The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust said it had worked to end violence in Northern Ireland and funds groups “transitioning from violence in loyalist and republican communities”.

The organisation insisted it “has no relationship with any armed groups or proscribed organisations, including the INLA”.

A statement said: “Teach na Failte is recognised by HMRC as a charitable body. It provides a range of peace-building community initiatives including support for INLA ex-prisoners and their families. Teach na Failte has been a key player in the INLA ceasefire and decommissioning process. It has been recognised for its positive contribution to peacebuilding and the re-integration of former prisoners in Northern Ireland.”