Trans-activist group Mermaids faces statutory inquiry

The Charity Commission has opened a full statutory inquiry into the scandal-hit trans-activist group Mermaids.

The watchdog escalated its investigation into the children’s charity last week after “newly identified issues” emerged about its “governance and management”.

The Commission had opened a regulatory compliance case in September, following revelations that the group had been sending chest binders to girls as young as 13 without their parents’ knowledge.

Serious concerns

The regulator’s website states that a statutory inquiry is for the purpose of identifying “the extent, if any” of “criminal, unlawful or improper” misconduct.

It also seeks to establish whether “any act (or failure to act)” may have caused “charitable resources to be misused or the people who benefit from the charity to be put at risk”.

Although it acknowledged that the trustees had fully cooperated with the initial investigation, the watchdog said: “their response has not provided the necessary reassurance or satisfied the Commission”.

The Commission announced it will also examine the “leadership and culture” of the organisation and whether its governance is appropriate for working with vulnerable children and their families.

Safeguarding

Mermaids has come under increasing scrutiny over recent months following a series of scandals.

In October, Dr Jacob Breslow resigned as a trustee of Mermaids after attention was brought to a paper he delivered in 2011 that attempted to normalise sexual acts with children.

In the same month, it was also revealed the group employed a man who had posed for highly sexualised photographs and posted them online.

Miriam Cates MP has called for a police investigation into the activities of Mermaids and its staff following revelations of the group’s “serious safeguarding failures”.