The charity sector has suffered considerable and probably permanent damage due to the recent slew of sleaze allegations aimed at a few large organisations.

In Haiti it has been reported that some Oxfam staff organised orgies in a villa in Port au Prince, with women offered aid for sex after the 2010 earthquake there in the “culture of entitlement” that apparently existed at Oxfam. As a result Haiti has banned Oxfam GB while it investigates the allegations, including those claiming that some of the prostitutes were 14 years old. The age of consent in Haiti is 18. Continue reading →

In the wake of the collapse of the President’s Club after a stag event at which female hostesses were groped and propositioned and sex workers were said to circulate, Great Ormond Street Hospital claimed that it would pay back charitable donations made by the club, thought to total more than £500,000.

This was because they did not wish their good name to be associated with the sleazy goings-on. However since then they have paused to reconsider their position in the light of donor threats to withdraw support and questions such as why innocent and sick children should suffer because of the scandal.

The “dirty money” dilemma is certainly one classic one faced by the sector, and it will be interesting to see how GOSH resolves it (reader’s views welcome).

The management of the Royal Albert Hall is to face an overdue and judge-led inquiry later this year into why the charity allows its trustees to own seats privately and then to profit from selling tickets for them at significantly inflated prices.

The inquiry will establish whether or not the considerable private gain is acceptable for trustees controlling the hall. If it is not then the Charity Commission has the power to replace the trustees and appoint their own independent ones to run the hall.

The number of advertisements for betting firms during sports matches, and the number of sports pundits extolling their products is worrying gambling charities which are concerned about the effect of these items in hooking children into gambling.

Since the last Labour government relaxed laws governing the broadcast of ads encouraging betting the number seen by children has tripled, with many ads urging bets on football matches screened before the 9.00pm watershed.

The other problem is the number of sports pundits who now act as ambassadors, or paid pushers, to betting firms, with Alan Shearer pushing Coral and Jermaine Jenas pushing Unibet. Meanwhile Robbie Savage promotes William Hill on Twitter and Michael Vaughan promotes bookmaker Mr Green.

Some football clubs themselves have ads for gambling on football shirts sold to under-18’s.

Figures produced in 2016 by charity GambleAware show that problem gamblers cost the UK taxpayer up to £1.2 billion a year. Betting firms are the biggest suppliers of gifts to UK MP’s.

The chief executive of an animal shelter who plundered donations of £640,000 in nine years to fund his online gambling habit has been jailed for five years.

Simon Price, 53, diverted cash from legacies left to Birmingham Dogs Home to pay for his losses on his Betfair online account. He also raised money with fake invoices from solicitors, construction companies and marketing companies. He admitted multiple counts of fraud by abuse of position. Sentencing Price Judge Patrick Thomas QC told him that his crimes, “while in the grip of a gambling addiction” had “weakened public confidence in the work of the dog’s home. Continue reading →

Tests carried out by the Humane Society UK have revealed that real animal for is being misleadingly passed off as faux fur on a number of clothing items sold in Britain.

Researchers found:

• o Fox fur trim on the hoods of coats sold by TK Maxx and Amazon.
• o Fox fur on a bobble hat sold by brand Miss Bardo.
• o Mink fur on earrings sold by online store Boohoo.
• o Rabbit fur on shoes from Boohoo
• o Rabbit fur on shoes and scarves at Amazon.
• o Rabbit fur on keychains from online stores Not On The High Street and Groupon.

Fur farms, where animals endure “Appalling deprivation” were banned in the UK in 2,000 but fur farms in Russia, Poland and China are still sources.

The League Against Cruel Sports has welcomed the U-turn by Theresa May over her promise of an MP’s vote on overturning the ban on using dogs for hunting wild animals in England and Wales. The ban was introduced by the Hunting Act 2004, and by the Labour government of the time.

Mrs May, a supporter of foxhunting, said she had heard “the clear message” that most voters did not support the “sport” and said that there would be “No vote in this parliament”.

The League Against Cruel Sports commented that “the Government now accepts that cruel sports should no longer be a part of 21st century society”.