The Times has published strong criticism of the League Against Cruel Sports, which it says has “squandered” a £3.5 million bequest on salary rises for staff, foreign travel, hotel bills and a failed prosecution of six members of the Lamberton Hunt.

The prosecution failed when the close links with the charity of the expert witness, Stephen Harris came to light, calling into question previous convictions involving Harris. The foreign travel and hotel bills related to teams making trips to Malta to try to stop the shooting of wild birds, and to the USA to try to improve the welfare of racing greyhounds.

Criticism has also been levelled by The Times at the Charity Commission, which had been contacted by a whistle-blower at the league who offered full details of the spending. The commission refused to take any action on the basis that the matters were issues for the trustees. The newspaper praised the commission however for acting quickly to investigate and close down extremist bodies masquerading as charities to raise money for terrorism.