The Charity Commission has ended its compliance case into anti-extremism charity Hope Not Hate Charitable Trust after it adhered to calls to improve its transparency.

The case launched amid complaints over several years that “it was not clear” if the charity was connected to or endorsed the activities of Hope Not Hate Limited, a separate non charitable anti-fascist organisation.

Action taken by the charity includes changing its name to HOPE Unlimited Charitable Trust.

But while the regulator is satisfied action by the trustees has made the two organisations distinct from each other it is “critical of how long it took the charity to take these steps”.

“Following regulatory engagement, the charity made progress with steps to address concerns. It changed its name, recruited three new independent trustees to diversify its board and reviewed its website to remove unclear references to Hope Not Hate Limited, and requested the company updates its website with regards to references to the charity,” said the regulator.

In addition, the Commission has issued advice to the charity around evidencing its grant-making decisions. While it acknowledges the charity has developed a new grant criteria it remains concerns that “detail on this is limited”.

Charity Commission head of compliance visits and inspections Joshua Farbridge added: “The Commission will robustly defend a charity’s right to campaign and engage in political activity where that helps it to achieve what it was set up to do.

“However, charities must not be party political. All trustees have a duty to ensure their work not only follows the law on this, but is clear and transparent to the public so that they can continue to have faith in the charity’s work, and the wider sector.

“We have been critical of the time it has taken for legitimate concerns to have been addressed by the charity, but it has since made positive steps forward. We expect this to be maintained, and we will monitor the charity’s continued progress.”

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