The father of a paratrooper who died in Afghanistan in 2006 is set to take legal action against a charity he helped set up in memory of his son.
The charity was formed by Robert and Jem Wright in 2009, in memory of their son, to help ex-service men and women suffering mental and physical injuries as a result of war conflict. In 2011 the charity recorded an income of £203,810 and had 198 clients considered ‘friends of the Mark Wright Project’.
Robert Wright served on the board until last year, but resigned in December following a conflict with members of staff at the charity about the way it is being run.
Wright and his fellow trustees had been criticised by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator following an investigation in 2012. The OSCR report said they "lacked the appropriate skills, experience and collective approach required to effectively manage a charity of the scale of the Mark Wright Project" and had "collectively failed in their duties as charity trustees".
Wright said he had now decided to take legal action to have his son's name removed from the charity.
“I have been talking to a solicitor," he told the Edinburgh Evening News. "If it’s not going to be run right we will just remove the name. I feel pretty sad as I have wasted a few years of my life trying to do good.”
Since Wright's resignation, another nine directors have also stepped down.
Former chairman, Bill Brown, who stepped down in May, said the resignations came about because of a “dearth of information” from centre bosses.
He told the Edinburgh Evening News that the positions of the directors had become “untenable”.
“Bob and Jem resigned and for me that’s the saddest thing,” he said. “There is a project which uses their son’s name but lacks their values and the values that Mark displayed.
“It speaks volumes that the parents of the man in whose name this project has been established have no confidence in how it is being delivered.”
A spokesperson for a centre run by The Mark Wright Project, today told Civil Society News: “Mr and Mrs Wright, who set the charity up, walked away from it, so at the moment there are a number of options. One of them is to close the place because the Wrights are not involved. The second is to carry on using Mark’s name and the third one is to continue because we have been asked to continue by people who need the service.
“So there are three options on the table. Mr. Wright got wind of that and has taken this course of action. We hope to have an AGM meeting [to discuss the options] within the next three to four weeks.”
The Office of Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) told Civil Society News: “We are aware of these concerns and are in dialogue with the charity. It would not be appropriate to comment further.”
Corporal Wright was killed at the age of 27 after entering a minefield in Afghanistan. At the time of his death, he was attempting to save the lives of other injured soldiers and was posthumously awarded the George Cross for his bravery.
