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Prominent CEO sacked while investigating trustees 3

Governance | Tania Mason | 25 Nov 2009

David Philpott, chief executive of the London Air Ambulance charity, has been sacked as he was investigating allegations about conflicts of interest and misuse of funds against some of the trustees.

Philpott (pictured), a prominent member of the Air Ambulance community who has also been chief executive of the Essex and Kent HEMS (Helicopter Emergency Medical Service) charities, returned to work after a week’s holiday last Tuesday to be handed a letter of dismissal by three of the trustees.

He was told to leave his office immediately and was not allowed any time to clear his personal possessions. He was then marched off the premises by a security guard. He had been working for the London charity - whose formal name is Virgin HEMS (London) - for 12 weeks after being headhunted from Kent Air Ambulance Trust.

He said the letter contained no reason for his dismissal.

Philpott told Civil Society that at the time of his dismissal, he had been investigating seven separate verbal and written allegations against certain members of the board. The allegations had been made by other trustees, staff and the wider community, he said.

Because he was escorted from the premises he was unable to take his evidence files with him and does not know what has happened to these.

But he also stressed that the allegations are still unproven, and with no concrete evidence yet to prove their validity, he would not name the trustees in question.

The week before Philpott was sacked, he had submitted a paper to the trustees that made clear that, owing to a lack of proper financial controls, the charity was living beyond its means and trading while technically insolvent.  This meant there were serious doubts about whether London’s Air Ambulance could afford a replacement helicopter when the current lease expires in 2011.

Trustees' response 

In response, the charity issued a statement saying its trustee board is "investigating matters arising out of Mr Philpott’s period of employment with the Trust which caused us concern at that time and which continue to cause concern. 

"In light of the need to observe procedural fairness, no further comment will be made until the conclusion of this investigation."

Andrew Cameron, former chief executive, will act as interim CEO until a replacement has been appointed.

The board added that it was aware of various issues raised by Philpott during the course of his employment "and is taking appropriate steps to thoroughly investigate those matters to ensure the Trust’s continued adherence to best principles of governance".

A Charity Commission spokeswoman confirmed that "concerns have been raised and we’re currently assessing what further action may be required of us”.

Philpott said he would sue Virgin HEMS London for wrongful dismissal.

During Philpott’s six-year tenure at Kent Air Ambulance Trust, he overhauled the charity’s finances, promoted the deployment of specialist on-board medics and launched new services into Sussex and Surrey.  When he resigned, Trust chairman Tony Monteuuis paid tribute to his “creative vision” and said: “The board has always been very happy to run with him on issues relating to expenditure and new ventures because his logic was clear and he had a sound view of where we should be heading.”

Philpott was also the founding chairman of the Association of Air Ambulance Charities, a post he held for three years.

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