The head of policy at a charity that cares for the summit of Ben Nevis has resigned after losing confidence in its leadership.
Thomas Widrow announced his departure from the John Muir Trust on LinkedIn this week and said he held “the chair and the CEO personally responsible for the failings of the trust and the incredible internal upheaval it faces today”.
Widrow, who joined the charity three years ago as a parliamentary officer, called on others to “save it from the CEO and the chair’s disastrous lack of leadership”.
“Over the past few months, those closest to me have seen my mental and physical health degrade as I was forced by the CEO to defend my team’s ability to successfully advocate on behalf of wild places,” said Widrow.
He described the situation as “untenable” and said he “would not be allowed to do what I was hired to do” under the chair and CEO’s leadership.
A spokesperson for the John Muir Trust said: “We are sorry that Thomas Widrow has decided to move on from the John Muir Trust.
“During his time at the trust, Thomas made a significant contribution to our policy work. We would like to thank him for his passion and commitment and wish him well for the future.
“Our priority at this time is supporting our staff and our focus will always be on delivering our charitable purpose to protect wild places. The biggest threat to wild places comes from human attrition – nature and wild places have no voice and we speak for them.”
Widrow’s departure follows the exit in May of John Muir Trust co-founder Denis Mollison, who had raised concerns about the charity’s governance and finances before being found in breach of its trustee code of conduct.
Fellow trustee and former chief finance officer Alison Russell departed last year and claimed she had been “driven out to cover up far more serious breaches on the part of the CEO and the chair”, which the charity denied.
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’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.
Seven trustees in total have left the charity in the past year, according to Companies House.
An OSCR spokesperson today confirmed that its investigation was ongoing.
