Charity watchdog meets with RSPCA
The Charity Commission has told senior executives of the RSPCA that any decision to prosecute must be a "reasonable and effective use of charity resources".
The comments came at a meeting called by the commission to discuss "the RSPCA's approach to prosecutions in general, and the recent prosecution of the Heythrop hunt in particular".
It emerged last month that the Uk's biggest charity had spent £326,000 on the prosecution – nearly 10 times the cost of the defence's legal bill. The expenditure was described as "staggering" by a judge.
It was reported that the charity payed for external firms of lawyers for the prosecution, despite the fact that it has its own legal team.
The commission said: "If considering a prosecution, charities must consider whether bringing a prosecution is a reasonable and effective use of the charity’s resources, what the prospects of success are, and whether the public interest is served by a prosecution.”
The meeting was prompted by Simon Hart MP who complained that the RSPCA's 18 trustees had breached a duty of prudence by agreeing to fund the prosecution. His views were reiterated by Lord Heseltine.
Mr Hart also said the commission's comments will be seen as a "veiled rebuke" against the prosecution of the prime minister's local hunt.
"We will be asking the Charity Commission to clarify whether it quizzed the charity as to why it failed in its ‘duty of prudence’ by spending a third of a million pounds on a single case when it could have achieved the same aim by a much more cost effective route."
A spokesperson for the RSPCA said: “RSPCA and Charity Commission executives met… to discuss the RSPCA’s approach to prosecutions. The Charity Commission has expressed no concern about the decisions made by the RSPCA, including the recent prosecution of the Heythrop hunt.
“The RSPCA welcomed and was unsurprised by this outcome. The Charity Commission has confirmed that it was not investigating the RSPCA and this is still the case.”
Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
