Scottish charity regulator OSCR has opened an inquiry into regulatory and governance procedures at the Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP) after its former chair was jailed.
OSCR opened the review into the SYP after Jordan Linden, the charity’s former chair, was sentenced to 18 months in prison last week.
Linden was convicted in March of 10 offences of crimes which included sexual assault, stalking, and sexual communication.
The victims were all boys or young men, the youngest of which was 14, and the offences took place between 2011 and 2021, which included the period he chaired the SYP.
Linden was also a former council leader and was arrested and charged by specialist officers from Police Scotland in February 2024.
An OSCR spokesperson told Third Force News: “Following an assessment of concerns received about the Scottish Youth Parliament, we have opened an inquiry into the charity.
“In line with our published policies, we are unable to provide further comment at this time.”
Charity has reviewed procedures
In response, an SYP spokesperson told the publication: “We have received notification from OSCR that it has started a review into our regulatory and governance procedures and we are fully committed to supporting that review in any way we can.
“Our safeguarding and child protection policies and procedures have been reviewed and strengthened on a regular basis, including in 2016, 2018, 2021 and 2024, with further updates planned this year.
“We remain committed to maintaining a safe environment for all young people and to continually improving our safeguarding practice.”
SYP said in a statement earlier last week: “SYP twice commissioned external investigations into how we handled allegations made against Linden in 2016, which established there was no evidence of criminality based on the information we had at that time, and that we had properly followed procedures and guidelines in place.
“In November 2017, we also referred fresh allegations to Police Scotland, which is responsible for investigating potential criminality, and it later confirmed that no criminality had been established and its inquiry concluded.
“After further allegations emerged in 2022, the SYP fully supported Police Scotland and the Crown Office investigation, which subsequently led to Linden’s conviction.
“Throughout this period, SYP referred concerns to the appropriate authorities and cooperated fully with external investigations.”
Civil Society has approached both SYP and OSCR for comment.
