The Sun attacks NSPCC chief executive Peter Wanless over pay

08 Jun 2015 News

The Sun has today criticised large UK charities, including the NSPCC, Cancer Research UK and Marie Curie, over chief executive pay.

The Sun has today criticised large UK charities, including the NSPCC, Cancer Research UK and Marie Curie, over chief executive pay.

In an “exclusive investigation”, the Sun attacked the NSPCC’s Peter Wanless and six other chief executives from other charities, accusing them of enjoying “sky-high salaries and the luxury lifestyles that go with them”.

It said: “These lifestyles are funded by the generosity of charity supporters such as 92-year-old Olive [Cooke], who killed herself last month after being pestered for donations.”

Members of Cooke’s family have denied accusations that charities were responsible for her death.

The investigation lists the annual salaries of chief executives from six charities - the NSPCC, World Animal Protection, Marie Stopes International, Cancer Research UK, Age UK, Marie Curie - as well as pressure group Amnesty International.

Peter Wanless, chief executive of the NSPCC, comes in for particular criticism. A photograph taken from Wanless’ Facebook account (pictured above) was printed alongside the article. The Sun claims it was taken while Wanless “swills champagne and smirks as he pockets a fortune”.

The NSPCC told Civil Society News that the photograph was taken of Wanless at a private event held by a friend on the island of Jersey, where he had gone for work.

“This was a private evening event attended by Peter at a friend’s home in Jersey. During the day he attended the opening of a new NSPCC Service Centre, for vulnerable children and their families, which had been generously funded by a donor.”

The Sun also claims that the chief executives of voluntary sector organisations across the country are “regularly being paid more than the PM” and quote Tory MP Michael Ellis asking: “How can they possibly justify being paid more than the PM?”

Issues surrounding the level of chief executive salaries were particularly bought into focus by an “expose” published in The Telegraph in August 2013. The article accused 30 charity chief executives who earned “over £100,000 a year” of “bringing the wider charity world into disrepute”.

The Telegraph also quoted the chair of the Charity Commission, William Shawcross, who it said “slammed” what he called “disproportionate salaries”. Shawcross’ position was sharply rebuked by many in the sector at the time, most notably by Sir Stephen Bubb chief executive of Acevo.

The sector’s response

Civil Society News has this morning contacted all of the organisations named in The Sun’s article for a response.

A spokesman for the NSPCC said that the organisation continues to be transparent with how much it pays senior staff members.

“Our supporters rightly want to know where their money is spent and we annually publish the salaries of our CEO and senior staff on our website,” he said.

World Animal Protection’s spokesman said that its chief executive is “accountable for a £43m budget annually” and thus it needs to offer a competitive salary to attract the best candidates.

“We ensure that every pound we spend is carefully considered and accounted for," he said. “The salary review for the chief executive is benchmarked against salaries of chief executives in comparable global charities of a similar size and income. Remuneration is then decided by our Board’s HR & Remuneration Committee.”

A Marie Curie spokeswoman said: “To run an organisation as large and complex as Marie Curie, it is essential that the charity is able to recruit a leadership team with the right skills and experience.”

Michael Pragnell, chairman of Cancer Research UK, said: “As a leading medical research organisation, it is essential that we attract and retain the highest quality people to enable us to achieve our mission of beating cancer. 

"Some of our highest paid people are world leading scientists who have helped make huge advances in cancer research." 

A spokeswoman for Marie Stopes International said: “We depend on talented, skilled professionals to maintain the highest governance and clinical standards possible, and to make the best use of our funds.

"While we do not attempt to match corporate packages we need to attract the right talent and leadership skills to ensure that Marie Stopes International can continue to improve and deliver on its services, for the women and men we serve, who numbered 18.1 million in 2014.”