Kids Company has denied claims that plans are being drawn up for it to wind down, as the Charity Commission reveals additional “potentially serious concerns” were raised by former staff members.

The Charity Commission told Civil Society News that it has received further concerns from former staff members at the charity over its financial management. This follows the announcement by the Metropolitan Police last week that the charity was being investigated by a team specialising in child and sexual abuse.

A Commission spokeswoman said: “In recent weeks, additional potentially serious concerns were raised with us about the charity’s financial management and governance by ex-employees of Kids Company. Please note these concerns did not relate to safeguarding. We have been in contact with the trustees in relation to these concerns, including meeting charity representatives. The charity has been responsible in its engagement with us.”

She was unable to give further details about what these “additional” concerns were, but said they were additional to the issues the Commission had previously been engaging with the charity on – which were issues that were already in the public domain in regards to the charity’s funding situation.

It had previously been revealed that the Cabinet Office had told the charity that it would withhold £3m worth of funding from the charity unless the charity’s founder, Camila Batmanghelidjh, stepped down from her role as chief executive. Batmanghelidjh announced last month that she would be stepping down later this year and take up the more clinical role of president at the charity.

Government officials also ignored warnings from Richard Heaton, permanent secretary to the Cabinet Office and first parliamentary counsel, against awarding the charity additional funding.

It has also previously been reported that the government waived a £600,000 tax bill back in 2003.

The charity had threatened in September last year that the charity could face closure unless it received “proper government funding”. Batmanghelidjh had said that unless the charity received more government funding it would not last until the end of the year.

This weekend, the Mail on Sunday reported that an unnamed source had told the paper that the charity had started drawing up emergency plans to close the charity and reopen it under a different name “with a fraction of its current staff”.

The paper reported a source as saying that the aim was to “draw a line under the controversy and make a fresh start”.

The charity reportedly denied these claims.

No-one at the charity has yet to respond to requests from Civil Society News to clarify the charity’s position.