The Charity Commission is assessing a 27-page complaint made about a Westminster-based think tank.
The Good Law Project (GLP) made the complaint this week about Policy Exchange, a charity co-founded by former justice secretary Michael Gove in 2002 for the “non-partisan advancement of education of the public”.
GLP alleged in its complaint that Policy Exchange was breaching its objects and charity law by showing “an unhealthy obsession with trans issues, repeatedly advocating in favour of the rolling back of trans rights”.
It urged the regulator to open a statutory inquiry into the think tank, which was previously ranked by Open Democracy as one of the least transparent in the UK.
A spokesperson for the commission said: “We are assessing concerns raised with us about Policy Exchange to determine if there is any role for us as regulator.”
Public comments by members
Charity Commission guidance states that “education can be based on broad values that are uncontroversial which would be generally supported by objective and informed people”, which GLP quoted in its complaint.
GLP, which previously complained to the commission about other charities such as the Institute for Economic Affairs and GambleAware, claimed that Policy Exchange’s output of reports and opinion pieces “has repeatedly positioned it as an advocate for right-wing policies”.
It accused Policy Exchange’s members of making 36 public comments, many of which described as “trans ideology” or “gender ideology”, that are not compliant with charity law.
Policy Exchange has been contacted for comment.
