Formal inquiry launched into transgender charity Mermaids

The Charity Commission has launched a statutory inquiry into the transgender charity Mermaids after identifying concerns about its management.

The regulator said the inquiry — its most serious form of investigation — was triggered by “newly identified issues” around the youth charity’s “governance and management”.

It had already announced a compliance case into Mermaids after safeguarding concerns but a statutory inquiry marks a significant ramping up of its examination of the charity. It will try to establish if there was any mismanagement or misconduct by trustees.

The commission said today that Mermaids’ response to the initial compliance case “has not provided the necessary reassurance or satisfied the commission at this stage”.

It added: “The regulator will seek to determine whether the charity’s governance is appropriate in relation to the activities the charity carries out, which involve vulnerable children and young people, as well as their families.”

Mermaids has come under intense public scrutiny and last month the chief executive, Susie Green, stood down after six years in charge.

The Times understands that Green’s departure was preceded by the commission of a third-party report into the charity by Mermaids.

Mermaids confirmed that it had carried out a report into its “internal culture” which found “a number of significant challenges”. It would not comment on Green’s departure.

A spokesman said: “Earlier this year Mermaids decided to carry out a frank and honest appraisal of our internal culture and how we measure up in terms of equality, diversity and inclusion.

“As part of this process we commissioned an independent external report which highlighted a number of significant challenges for us.

“We know we must do better and we are absolutely committed to doing so. We are implementing the report’s recommendations as a priority.”

Critics accuse the charity of going beyond mere support, encouraging children to transition simply because they deviate from gender stereotypes

WIKTOR SZYMANOWICZ/FUTURE PUBLISHING/GETTY IMAGES

Reacting to the statutory inquiry announcement, Mermaids added: “We continue to co-operate fully, openly and with complete transparency with the Charity Commission as its inquiry gets underway.”

The statutory inquiry has powers to investigate whether a charity and its trustees have carried out their duties and responsibilities under charity law. It will look at the administration, governance and management of Mermaids by trustees, including its leadership and culture. It will examine whether “there has been any misconduct and/or mismanagement by the trustees”.

The investigator will also look at whether the trustees have complied with and fulfilled their duties and responsibilities as trustees under charity law and, in particular, whether they had “sufficient oversight of the charity’s activities and compliance with its policies and procedures and in line with its charitable objects”.

A trustee, Dr Jacob Breslow, resigned in October after The Times revealed he had spoken at a conference hosted by an organisation that promotes services to paedophiles.

A Daily Telegraph investigation also claimed that Mermaids offered to send breast binders to children against their parents’ wishes. It said that staff on the charity’s forum agreed to send a chest-flattening device to an unidentified adult posing as a 14-year-old girl wishing to transition.

Critics accuse the charity of going beyond mere support, encouraging children to transition simply because they deviate from gender stereotypes, and when they are too young to understand the potential consequences. They argue proper scrutiny of the charity by the commission is well overdue.

In September Mermaids launched an appeal against the Charity Commission’s awarding of charitable status to LGB Alliance, which has been critical of “gender ideology’’. It is understood to be the first time one charity has attempted to strip legal status from another.

Mermaids has, in the past, won the support of celebrities such as Emma Watson and Prince Harry, and been handed grants from the National Lottery and the government.

Pending the regulatory compliance case, a number of organisations have paused their relationships with Mermaids. The National Lottery Community Fund has suspended future payments and the Department for Education has removed it from its mental health and wellbeing resources for schools.

Mermaids was founded in 1995 and staffed solely by volunteers until 2016 when Green became its first member of staff. It has its headquarters in Leeds, with an office in London, and has 44 staff members and 110 volunteers.