The Charity Commission has opened an inquiry into the running of a religious charity after a former trustee was convicted of encouraging terrorism in a speech given on its premises.

The regulator is to investigate the management of Brighton Mosque and Muslim Centre and has appointed an interim manager to run the charity due to ongoing regulatory concerns.

The move has been taken amid a dispute among the charity’s leaders about how it should be managed. It also has concerns around other trustees knowing about the behaviour of convicted former trustee, 53-year-old Abubaker Deghayes.

The Commission said it has acted “due to regulatory concerns resulting from a failure to resolve a dispute at the charity which is having a detrimental impact on the charity’s governance and administration”.

In May the charity had been issued with an official warning following Deghayes’ speech, which had been given after evening prayers in November 2020.

This details how the speech involved “encouraging people to take part in violent jihad”.

Among the 50 people present was at least one trustee, children and young adults.

The trustee or trustees present “did not intervene or attempt to minimise the impact of the content of the speech”, said the Commission.

Trustees 'ought to have known the risk'

Deghayes was convicted earlier this year of encouraging terrorism under the 2006 Terrorism Act. He was sentenced to four years in prison, plus a further year spent on licence.

“The Commission determined that the trustees knew or ought to have known the risk that this individual posed to the charity and set out the actions trustees should take to protect the charity and its beneficiaries from abuse,” said the regulator.

“However, due to an ongoing dispute at the charity about control of its administration and management, there is an increased risk that appropriate actions will not be taken to protect the charity from further undue risk of harm.”

After the former trustee’s conviction, in January this year, Nick Price, head of the Crown Prosecution Unit’s counter-terrorism unit, said: “Abubaker Degahyes encouraged violence in the name of religion during the speech he made at a mosque in front of young people.

“This was dangerous and could have had profound consequences. The speech was not religious preaching, but Deghayes instead used religion to try and incite violence, and it is right that he has been convicted today.”

Degahayes was a regular attendee at the Mosque and had resigned as a trustee of the charity in 2018.

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