Charity Commission inquiry report: Brighton Mosque and Muslim Community Centre

The Charity Commission has published an inquiry report into the Brighton Mosque and Muslim Community Centre. The Commission became involved in 2021, when concerns were raised after a former trustee was charged with encouraging terrorism in a speech which he made at the charity’s premises. The report is critical of the charity’s former trustees for failing to resolve a serious dispute which damaged the charity’s governance and management. Some key issues, highlighted as relevant for the wider sector, include:

• The conduct of trustees is a key driver of public trust and confidence in the charity sector. They are representatives of their charity and should be aware of and act in accordance with their legal duties.
• All charities need appropriately tailored policy documents undertaken to address the specific risks associated with the kind of activities that it undertakes. A failure to implement internal policies, and to follow them, can put assets, beneficiaries and a charity’s reputation at risk. The Commission’s annual return asks whether charities have in place a range of policies which they deem essential for the effective running of the charity and compliance with legal and good practice requirements, so it is important to check that you have these in place.
• Charities and their trustees have a duty of care to everyone coming into contact with their charity and need to take steps to safeguard them from harm, including terrorist abuse, in this case.
• Trustees must not engage in, or otherwise allow, conduct or activities which would lead a reasonable member of the public to conclude or infer that the charity or its trustees are associated with or otherwise support a proscribed organisation or terrorism generally. This includes allowing a charity’s premises to be used to facilitate or commit terrorist or other criminal offences. More broadly, it would be helpful to have in place a visiting speaker policy to support trustees in considering whether an external speaker shows values and opinions which are consistent with, rather than at odds with, the charity’s objects and activities.
• Trustees working with children or vulnerable adults should have in place adequate safeguarding policies and procedures, ensure that trustees know what their responsibilities are and ensure that policies are fully implemented and followed at all times.
• Trustees should regularly review the steps that are taken to provide them with assurance on the fitness for purpose of their policies and the extent of compliance in the charity’s practice with those procedures.