Coldplay back calls to overturn report that criticised Kids Company

Yahoo

17-03-2025

Coldplay and Dame Joanna Lumley are backing calls to overturn a Charity Commission report into Kids Company, which collapsed in controversy a decade ago.
They are among a list of celebrities 'seeking justice' for the late Camila Batmanghelidjh, who founded the charity and died last year.
The south London charity supported deprived and vulnerable children, but concerns were raised over how its funds were spent.
Ms Batmanghelidjh was forced to step down in 2015. The High Court cleared her of wrongdoing but in 2022 a Charity Commission made a formal finding of mismanagement in the administration of the charity.
A judicial review is scheduled to take place this week. Coldplay and Dame Joanna are signatories to an open letter, published by the Good Law Project. Other names on the list include Sir Stephen Frears, the film director; Bella Freud, the fashion designer; Lord Hall of Birkenhead, the former BBC director-general; and Alan Yentob, the BBC executive and former chair of trustees for Kids Company.
Coldplay were major donors to the charity, funding the creation of the Kids Company Tree House centre in north London and donating £1m in 2009 alone.
The letter describes the closure of Kids Company as 'tragic' and reads: 'This review is crucial not only for seeking justice for the charity and its founder, Camila Batmanghelidjh, who sadly passed away on 1 January 2024, but also for upholding the integrity of the entire charitable sector in the UK.
'In February 2021, the High Court unequivocally stated that false allegations, not operational issues, led to Kids Company's closure. No evidence of wrongdoing or fund misuse was found.
'But in its 2022 report, the Charity Commission chose not to accurately represent these finds, prompting this judicial review to ensure that the report is consistent with the facts… The report inaccurately depicts the reasons for Kids Company's closure, abjectly failing to acknowledge the harmful impact of unfounded allegations and external pressures on the charity.'
It ends: 'In loving memory of Camila and all who supported Kids Company, we seek accountability, transparency and justice from the Charity Commission. We urge the public to stand behind this significant judicial review.'
A spokesman for the Charity Commission said: 'We will robustly defend the findings and conclusions of our inquiry into Kids Company at the High Court.'
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