One of the founders of a charity that cares for the summit of Ben Nevis has left the organisation after being found in breach of its trustee code of conduct.
Denis Mollison exited the John Muir Trust last month after raising concerns about its governance and finances and expressing difficulty in contacting fellow trustees about these issues.
The charity, which is under investigation by Scottish regulator OSCR, decided that Mollison had breached its code and asked him to sign a pledge to meet the standards.
Mollison, one of the original “gang of four” who founded the John Muir Trust in 1983, unsuccessfully appealed the decision and left the charity.
In a statement published this week, Mollison said the appeal was “conducted in a biased manner” and that the statement he had been asked to sign would have “significantly diminished my capacity to act as a charity trustee exercising independent judgement”.
He counter charged that the charity’s chair and chief had “brought the trust into very significant disrepute”.
A spokesperson for the trust said: “The trust’s board was alerted to a potential breach of the code by Denis Mollison, which triggered an investigation, followed by a hearing.
"Following the hearing, the board met and concluded that Denis Mollison had breached the code’s standards.
“Denis Mollison was subsequently offered the opportunity to continue as a Trustee under the condition that he would comply fully with the code going forward – we recognise his contributions to the trust and sadly this was an opportunity he declined.
“Denis Mollison appealed the board decision, and an independent external investigation and appeal hearing concluded that the decision should remain unchanged.”
Second trustee departure
In his statement, Mollison also raised concerns about the departure of fellow trustee and former chief finance officer Alison Russell last year.
He said a new section of standing orders had been “used to get rid of Alison”, who resigned in June 2025 after less than a year as a trustee.
Speaking to TFN, Russell said: “In essence, I was driven out to cover up far more serious breaches on the part of the CEO and the chair.
“These were not isolated incidents but part of what has clearly been a recurring pattern of behaviour by the two most powerful individuals at the top of the charity.”
A spokesperson for the trust said: “We do not accept the version of events provided by Alison Russell regarding her resignation.
“The trust always welcomes constructive suggestions for improvements and strives to deliver its charitable purpose to the highest standards of governance. We take our responsibilities as a charity extremely seriously.
“Our focus remains on delivering our charitable purpose and on protecting wild places for everyone, now and for the future.”
Ongoing inquiry
OSCR began engaging with the John Muir Trust in 2024 after it reported a “serious funding shortfall” and told its staff that more than a quarter of jobs were at risk.
The charity also faced allegations from a former employee about “plummeting” staff morale and its CEO David Balharry’s “abrasive and divisive” management style.
In 2024, the charity’s total income rose to £3.98m while its expenditure declined to £3.54m.
It recorded eight redundancies, costing £53,400, as its average headcount decreased by 10 to 57 that year.
Six trustees in total have left the charity in the past year, according to Companies House.
An OSCR spokesperson this week said: “OSCR has an ongoing inquiry into the charity. In line with our published policies, we cannot comment any further at this stage.”
