The Charity Commission is assessing concerns raised over the anti-fascism charity Hope not Hate about possible breaches to its charitable status, as part of an existing compliance case.
Conservative MP for Windsor Jack Rankin wrote to the commission earlier this week to ask it to investigate Hope not Hate, which was founded in 2004 and campaigns against racism, neo-fascism and other forms of far-right extremism.
In his letter to the commission’s chief executive David Holdsworth, Rankin said: “Hope not Hate Limited is a purely political operation with a reported history of fabricating security threats, spreading disinformation and pushing smear campaigns.
“It seems incompatible with the charitable requirement to further public benefit in a balanced, non-partisan manner.
“This context strongly suggests that Hope not Hate Charitable Trust does not act for public benefit. In fact, in my view it seems that in many ways the work it funds directly opposes the national interest.”
Rankin said that he believes that its charitable status is being used for the purpose of funnelling taxpayer funds from Hope not Hate Charitable Trust into the connected private company Hope not Hate Limited.
He ended his letter by adding: “I hope that the above serves as reason enough to open a regulatory case investigating Hope not Hate Charitable Trust and look forward to any updates you can provide on action you will be taking as a result.”
The commission confirmed it has received the letter and said in a statement: “We have received concerns about Hope not Hate Charitable Trust and are currently assessing these, as part of an existing compliance case, to determine if these raise any new regulatory concerns.”
Hope not Hate has been contacted for comment.
Civil society review lead changes party
Meanwhile, Danny Kruger, who led the government-commissioned review of civil society in 2020, has become the first sitting Conservative MP to defect to Reform UK.
Known for his charity work, Kruger co-founded the London-based youth crime prevention charity Only Connect in 2006 with his wife Emma.
The charity was acquired by Catch22 in 2015 but continued to operate independently with its own brand.
Kruger also co-founded the West London Zone charity which aims to provide support to at-risk youth.
He was awarded an MBE for services to charity in the 2017 Queen’s Birthday Honours and in the same year voiced his support for the legalisation of cannabis.
