A charity that failed to take action against a trustee, who issued death threats and incitements to murder, has been criticised by the regulator.

The Charity Commission has issued a stern rebuke to the Muslim Foundation UK for its handling of comments made by one of its trustees, Pir Afzal Qadri.

Qadri had praised the murder of a Pakistani politician, called for violent uprisings against the Pakistani government and issued “edicts of death” against judges in the country.

The regulator has issued Qadri with a ten-year ban from holding a senior charity role or being a charity trustee in England and Wales.

This follows a disqualification order made against Qadri last year and a statutory inquiry into the charity. The regulator found that Qadri’s comments were “contrary to fundamental British values, including the rule of law and the right to life under the Human Rights Act (1998)”.

Safeguarding, financial and governance failures

The charity became subject to a statutory inquiry in January following a compliance visit by the Commission, which “identified serious regulatory concerns regarding the governance and administration of the charity”, which runs a place of worship and educational facilities in Nottingham.

The Commission’s inquiry report found that the trustees failed to comply with their legal duties and responsibilities.

It found that many had personal links to Qadri, failed to recognise the seriousness of his comments and did not take action.

In addition, the charity’s safeguarding proceedures have been criticised by the regulator. Its child protection policy was “generic and out of date” and there was no evidence that it was being appropriately applied, the Commission found.

Financial mismanagement has also been uncovered. More than £100,000 was owed by the charity to people in its community through, “undocumented, unsecured interest free loans”.

“If all or a majority were called in,” the Commission found, “the charity’s property would be at risk”.

The Commission is also concerned that the charity is unable to provide evidence surrounding “thousands of pounds” sent overseas and through transferred funds.

The charity is to remain under statutory supervision until it improves.

“This charity has been mismanaged by its trustees over a number of years,” said the regulator’s assistant director for investigations and inquiries Tim Hopkins.

“They failed to take seriously the reprehensible public statements made by one of their fellow trustees, and have since been unable to provide evidence of having complied with some of their most basic legal duties and responsibilities.

“The trustees must now enact significant improvements to their systems, policies and processes. We will be monitoring their compliance with these actions and they are required to report to us on their progress”.

Earlier this week the Charity Commission criticised an education charity after children were exposed to terrorist propaganda. The Lantern of Knowledge Educational Trust was issued with an official warning following an investigation into a former Islamic Studies teacher, Umar Ahmed.

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