From Shahrar Ali of the Green Party.
NEWS EXCLUSIVE: 1 FEBRUARY 2020
CAMPAIGN AGAINST [ censored word]EMITISM UNDER INVESTIGATION BY CHARITIES COMMISSION FOLLOWING RAISING CONCERNS REFERRAL BY GREEN PARTY HOME AFFAIRS SPOKESPERSON
Shahrar Ali Green Party Home affairs spokesperson today confirmed that the Charities Commission is investigating the Campaign Against [ censored word]emitism (registered charity 1163790) following a six-page “Raising Concerns” Referral by him on 7 Jan 2020.
The focus of Dr Ali’s submission has been the CAA’s sustained attacks upon politicians during the general election 2019. In particular, he argued that Joe Glasman, CAA Head of Political Investigations, breached statutory charity regulations in a video of 25 Dec 2019 in which he described Corbyn as “The beast is slain,” alongside the caption, “Slaughtered!”.
The specific clauses in which Dr Ali argues the charity has been in breach of the Commission’s regulations are:
• Serious non-compliance in a charity that damages or has the potential to damage its reputation and/or the reputation of charities generally
• Material must be factually accurate and have a legitimate evidence base.
• Once an election has been called, charities that are campaigning will need to take special care to ensure their political neutrality. … A charity must never indicate to its supporters which candidate to support in an election. ... During an election period, the need for impartiality and balance is intensified, and charities must take particular care when undertaking any activities in the political arena.
• The independent nature of the charitable sector is of fundamental importance to society, and is greatly valued by the public. The guiding principle of charity law in terms of elections is that charities must be, and be seen to be, independent from party politics. Charities must not support or oppose a political party or candidate.
Shahrar Ali said, “Joe Glasman’s Christmas diatribe against Corbyn, in which he took organisational credit for frustrating his election victory, and referred to him as “beast is slain” was unconscionable. This in itself was also overt negative campaigning against a party political candidate and bringing the charitable sector into disrepute. Glasman’s statements also provide us with a strong example of the kind of unjust demonization of political figures which has no place in our political culture and is dangerous both to the target being attacked and the fight against racism itself.”
Dr Ali continued, “This is not the kind of misconduct that a registered charity should be engaging in, with impunity. We must clean up our political culture and these kind of negative campaigns must be rooted out, exposed and combatted. That is why I am pleased to report that the Charities Commission is treating my referral with the seriousness it deserves. They have confirmed that following initial assessment the matter has been escalated for further investigation. I have no doubt that the CAA should be deregistered as a charity and prevented from enjoying the unjust credibility which such status currently affords them and some seem to be hoodwinked by.”
Dr Ali said, “Having recently been cleared by the Green Party Disciplinary Committee of baseless allegations from the CAA which were turned into an official complaint by a prominent member of the Party, I would expect us to take a different approach towards this disreputable organisation, not only while the Charities Commission is investigating them for breach of charity law.”
ENDS.
