The Fundraising Standards Board has thrown out a complaint that the RSPB’s Abernethy Forest appeal made “false, misleading and exaggerated” claims.

The regulator’s latest adjudication report, published today, related to an appeal to expand the Abernethy forest in the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland by planting new Caledonian pinewood trees to support endangered wildlife.

But the complainant raised concerns with the RSPB after reading an article in the Sunday Herald about its intention to plant trees on its reserve.

The person alleged that the charity’s online fundraising page, ‘Help us to keep Abernethy special’, contained several “false, misleading and exaggerated claims”.

After several email exchanges with the RSPB’s regional director for northern Scotland, the complainant remained unhappy, the adjudication says.

The complaint escalated and was taken to the FRSB, which considered it against the Institute of Fundraising’s Code of Fundraising Practice and whether it had breached the rule that fundraising communications “ought not to mislead, or be clearly likely to mislead, by inaccuracy, ambiguity, exaggeration, omission or otherwise”.

When considering the complaint, the FRSB’s board noted that the appeal had been subject to a full Environmental Impact Assessment, public consultation, and scrutiny by a statutory conservation authority.

The report said the board was reassured by this and ruled that the web page “was not misleading and provided a fair and reasonable overview of the problems” in Abernethy Forest.

However, the FRSB said the RSPB “could have been more conciliatory and detailed” in its responses to the complainant, which would have reassured the person that their concerns had been taken seriously.

Charities should aim to answer all reasonable questions about their work, the report said.