The co-founder of a Black representation charity has said a discrimination claim brought against it by a white applicant will be damaging for the organisation no matter the outcome.
Sophie Corcoran, a commentator who has appeared on GB News, is taking legal action against the 10,000 Interns Foundation and the Bar Council after she was rejected from their co-run programme for aspiring Black lawyers.
She has asserted that she faced a loss of employment opportunity due to being white and was subject to discrimination under the Equality Act.
While the 10,000 Interns Foundation and the Bar Council have both confirmed they will defend themselves against the lawsuit, charity co-founder Dawid Konotey-Ahulu warned this week that the case would take a toll nonetheless.
Konotey-Ahulu, posting to LinkedIn on Tuesday, said: “A charity of our size does not need to lose a case to be damaged by one.”
He added that the lawsuit in itself could discourage the support his charity needs to function.
“The simple commencement of proceedings can, by itself, cause supporters to hesitate, donors to step back and the work to falter – without a tribunal ever ruling on the merits of the case,” he said.
Despite this, the co-founder said the charity, called the 10,000 Black Interns Foundation until March 2024, would continue its work, including running the programme.
Konotey-Ahulu also wrote that Corcoran’s claim fails to recognise a passage in the Equality Act code of practice that gives permission for programmes such as those run by this charity.
The code says an organisation can provide “opportunities exclusively to the target group to learn more about particular types of work opportunities with the employer, for example internships or open days”.
Thousands donated to crowdfunder
Not-for-profit campaign organisation the Good Law Project has given the 10,000 Interns Foundation its backing.
The organisation has launched a Crowdfunder entitled “Stop the far-right attack on equality”, which has raised over £5,000 for the charity’s legal defence.
In its post, the not-for-profit pointed out that people of colour were unemployed at twice the rate of white people last year and that Black people are 33% less likely to be hired for graduate jobs.
The project said claims like Corcoran’s risked putting decades of progress towards UK equality at risk.
The charity itself has launched a separate Crowdfunder in which it admitted it was navigating a challenging financial period.
The charity posted: “We are a small team of 12, and are gratefully receiving pro-bono legal support, but our future depends on your support.”
In its latest Charity Commission accounts for the year ending 31 December 2024, the charity’s total expenditure of £1.26m was above its income of £815,000.
Civil Society has approached Corcoran for comment.
