The charity Helping Households Under Great Stress (HUGGS) is entering into discussions with its solicitors over a Daily Mail article which it says creates a “sensational story over administrative errors”.

The article centred round a lecture by Moazzam Begg, director of Cage, at the London School of Oriental and African Studies. A stall, run by HHUGS at the lecture, was handing out promotional cards about wrongly imprisoned Islamists, one of whom who had pleaded guilty to planning US embassy bombings in 2014.

The Daily Mail states that its undercover reporters found HHUGS “running a stall at a lecture on November 2 at SOAS about ‘wrongly imprisoned’ Islamists, titled ‘Brothers Behind Bars’. A female member of the group in a niqab was giving out promotional cards, including one about Adel Abdel Bary. Forms requesting donations were also given to students.”

It wrote that the card handed out at the SOAS event stated “Adel-Majed Abdel Bary – Detained without charge since 1999”. However Bary, who was extradited from the UK in 2012, pleaded guilty in 2014 of conspiring to kill US nationals, conspiring to make a threat to kill, injure, intimidate, and damage and destroy property by means of an explosive, and making such a threat.

However, a spokesman from HUGGS told Civil Society News: “The postcard in relation to Adel Bary was produced in 2010 at a time when Mr Bary was detained without charge - and notably not at a time when Mr Abdul Majed Abdul Bary was in Syria! - and has not since been reprinted.

“As we had clarified to the Daily Mail in writing prior to publication, the postcards should not have been utilised at the stall due to their outdated information; that this was an oversight on our part is underlined by the fact that even the contact address for HHUGS printed on the postcard has not been used for several years.”

He added: "We will be discussing the matters at issue with our solicitors."

'Never provided support to Bary'

The spokesman said that due to beneficiary confidentiality it is not at liberty to disclose full details of support to any beneficiary, however it confirmed that HHUGS has never provided any support to Abdul-Majed Abdul Bary.

He added: “It is disappointing that the Daily Mail has sought to create a sensational story over administrative errors despite the clarifications being provided to the reporters. Such irresponsible reporting could have an adverse risk on the reputation of the charity and not only impact our donor support but, ultimately, cause further distress to the hundreds of innocent women and children who depend on our support.”

The charity said it “does not in any way support or condone any form of terrorism”.

It says it “exists solely to provide help and support to the families of persons who have been detained by the authorities in relation to anti-terror legislation”. It said that a notable example of this is the family of Shaker Aamer, whose case the Daily Mail highlighted and campaigned for.

It said: “HHUGS has been supporting Shaker's family for over a decade. At HHUGS we try to fill the hole in their lives by providing the emotional, practical and financial support they need to continue life.”

It added that this support has included regular counselling sessions for Aamer’s wife to “deal with the significant impact of her husband’s detention on her mental health”, as well as “monthly shopping vouchers, educational support and tuition fees for the children”.

The statement continued: “While HHUGS does not support convicted prisoners, their families are amongst our beneficiaries. In this respect, the work of HHUGS is no different from that of several other charities such as Barnardo’s, Action for Prisoners’ Families, and FAST who recognise that innocent children and vulnerable parents should not be stigmatised with collective guilt. We oppose the Daily Mail's efforts to victimise and criminalise innocent children.”

A statement on its website states that the charity, which has been registered with the Charity Commission since 2007, extends its services to “many different families around the UK. These include wives, mothers, parents, siblings and/or children of those individuals who have been harmfully affected by counter-terrorism and national security legislation.

“HHUGS is not involved with the details of any individuals’ case and gives assistance solely on a humanitarian basis.”

A spokeswoman from the Charity Commission told Civil Society News that it is not currently assessing any concerns about the charity HHUGS.

She added: “As always, if and when we receive complaints or concerns about the charity, we would assess them against our risk framework.”