Acevo's chief executive has warned that an "overzealous" approach by regulators is harming, rather than helping, the fight against terror.
Sir Stephen Bubb was speaking after he went to Pakistan, at the invitation of the Muslim Charities Forum, to visit member projects on the ground. He said that Muslim charities could be an ally to fight terrorism, but the current approach by regulators was undermining them.
At a press conference yesterday he highlighted the importance of showing “solidarity” with the Muslim voluntary and community organisations.
And said: “Britain needs to fight terrorism with both hands – not with one hand tied behind our back.
"We need high level strategic security measures but also better understanding of the conditions on the ground that breed or alleviate the threat of extremism. There are serious flaws in our current approach.”
In a letter to political leaders he said: "The regulatory net may have caught some bad apples but it has also caught many important organisations doing important, community building activity. When such organisations are forced to use cash instead of international banks, the potential for corruption multiplies."
He added that: “We must recognise that an overzealous approach by regulators has exacerbated the difficulties charities already experience from restrictions on their bank accounts. The Charity Commission, in particular, has found itself at loggerheads many of the organisations it regulates.
“Regrettably, they are perceived by parts of the charity sector to be biased in their investigatory priorities – and a perception of bias here can be as corrosive as actual bias.”
At a press conference yesterday he added that he was “particularly disappointed” by government departments withdrawing grants from Muslim Aid and MCF.
A Charity Commission spokeswoman added that the regulator’s chief executive, Paula Sussex, has asked to meet with Bubb to discuss the issues raised by his visit.
She said: “We were pleased to be invited by the Muslim Charities Forum who thanked us for speaking at their event, and had good conversations with both charity chief executives who spoke. They welcomed our support on issues facing charities, such as those who do not have access to banking facilities.
"The Commission believes it is essential for charities to have banking facilities and has been fully involved in discussions to find a resolution. We are keen to look generally at how it can work with all faith charities, and we have been absolutely clear that we do not have an ‘unbalanced’ approach to how we work with certain charities.”
Jehangir Malik, chief executive of Islamic Relief and Othman Moqbel, chief executive of Human Appeal, who are both trustees of MCF, visited Pakistan alongside Bubb.
It was the first time MCF had arranged a delegation overseas and they said that they hoped to organise future visits to other places their members worked to give politicians and journalists the opportunity to see the work being done on the ground.
He has written to the leaders of the three main political parties urging them to convene a summit of major banks to discuss ways to tackle the issue of charities' accounts being frozen and
In letters to David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg, he said that freezing charity bank accounts was “rarely productive” and called on them to arrange a meeting with him and the MCF to discuss the issues. None of the party leaders had responded before a press conference was held yesterday afternoon.
Economic secretary to the Treasury hears from charities on debanking
Earlier this week Andrea Leadsom, economic secretary to the Treasury, hosted a round table discussion to address the issue of banks withdrawing banking services, and the British Bankers’ Association has agreed to look at what it could do to improve communication between banks and their customers.
Leadsom said: “Because this problem is a global trend with global causes, there is a clear need to progress work the UK government has kick-started at a global level. We will continue to lead international efforts to prioritise work that addresses this issue; building on successes at the G20, Financial Action Task Force and Financial Stability Board.
Caron Bradshaw, chief executive of the Charity Finance Group, said: “It’s great to see the government taking de-risking seriously; charities are working all over the world in the most challenging and difficult environments, to ensure that help is given to those that need it most - but we need access to financial services.
“Unfortunately, some have lost access as a result of steps taken by banks to reduce risk. We’re optimistic that government supported cross-sector discussions at a national and international level will help find a solution.”
