Exclusive: Watchdog investigating link between charity and Al Quds organisers
Authorities to probe relationship between a charity and the organiser of Sunday's inflammatory anti-Israel march
Justin Cohen is the News Editor at the Jewish News
Britain’s charity watchdog has confirmed it is probing the relationship between a registered charity and the organisers of the annual Al Quds rally in London.
Jewish News has discovered that the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) Trust is subject of an “active case” opened before concerns were raised about the parade, organised by another organisation Islamic Human Rights Commission.
IHRC urged followers to bring along flags of the terror group Hezbollah while a prominent speaker at the rally linked the devastating Grenfell Tower fire to ‘Zionists’.
A Charity Commission spokeswoman said: “The Islamic Human Rights Commission (‘IHRC’) is not a charity, and therefore does not fall within the regulatory remit of the Charity Commission. ‘The Islamic Human Rights Commission Trust’ (charity number 1106120) is a separate legal entity from the IHRC, which is registered with and regulated by the Commission.
“We have an active case into the Islamic Human Rights Commission Trust which already includes examining their relationship with the IHRC. This case was opened before concerns were raised with us regarding the march on 18 June 2017.”
She added: “The Commission expects the trustees to carefully consider, and take action to mitigate, the potential reputational risks to their charity which could arise from links and associations with other organisations.”
Records for the last financial year show the Trust gave a grant of £167,000 to an organisation referred to as IHRC Ltd “for various charitable projects”
The Community Security Trust’s Mark Gardner said: “The language at this year’s pro-Hizbollah Quds Day march was even more extreme and divisive than usual, so it is very important that the Charity Commission fully investigates.”
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