Charity Commission opens statutory Inquiry into the Lifeline for Gaza/ Viva Palestina appeal                     

Release 23 March 2009

The Charity Commission, the independent regulator and registrar of charities in England and Wales, has today opened a statutory Inquiry into the charitable funds raised for the Lifeline for Gaza (also known as Viva Palestina) appeal.

Through various public fundraising events, the appeal claims on its website to have raised over £1 million pounds in aid to provide humanitarian relief to Gaza, which resulted in a convoy, led by George Galloway MP, travelling to Gaza in February 2009.

Following initial enquiries, including a review of the appeal’s governing document and other publicly available literature, the Commission’s view is that the appeal is charitable.

The Commission has attempted to contact the appeal on repeated occasions over the last month in an effort to secure acknowledgement that the funds are held for charitable purposes. However, to date, the Commission has had no substantive response to the issues that have been raised, either from the appeal or individuals connected with it.

In addition, the Commission has concerns over financial governance arrangements relating to the use of funds. These facts require further investigation, and given the failure to engage with the Commission, have now led to the opening of an Inquiry under Section 8 of the Charities Act 1993.

The Commission will make no further detailed comment at this stage but normal practice is to publish a statement of results setting out its findings, once the Inquiry is completed.

Ends.

Notes to Editors


1. The Charity Commission is the independent regulator for charitable activity in England and Wales.

2. When the Commission opens an inquiry it does so using its legal powers as set out in the Charities Act 1993 (Section 8). The Commission has a range of powers that are available to it when a Section 8 Inquiry is open, including the power to suspend any trustee, officer, agent or employee of the charity, to freeze bank accounts, and to appoint an interim manager. Its regulatory powers may be used throughout the course of an inquiry dependent upon the extent of misconduct or mismanagement or risk to charity property it finds and whether it needs to take action to protect beneficiaries or assets. The Commission’s aims in using these powers are: to prevent the continuation or repeat of any misconduct or mismanagement, if necessary by removing those responsible or by placing charity assets under other control; and to ensure that the charity's current or future assets are secure and will be properly administered.

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