'Charity Commission should look into the work of Care 4 Calais,' says conservative campaigner

Gabrielle Wilde

By Gabrielle Wilde


Published: 12/09/2024

- 13:42

Care4Calais deliver emergency aid to refugees in Calais and areas affected by the European migrant crisis

Director of Popular Conservatives has said there is a case for the Charity Commission looking into the operations of Care 4 Calais.

Commenting on claims that the charity is encouraging people to cross the English Channel, Mark Littlewood told GB News: “There is a fine line…I think if you're dancing on a fine line, then you owe it to the media and the public to explain exactly which side of that line you're on.

“I think there are two questions here that need to be slightly unravelled here. The first is, are any of these groups or individuals involved in doing anything illegal or criminal, in which case they should be arrested and prosecuted if indeed they are.

“The second is, should they be charities? Now the basic concept behind charity law is that you get charitable status if you're doing something that otherwise would have to be done by the state.

“So if you run a soup kitchen, for example, the argument might be otherwise the state would have to provide this sort of food for people. And I question whether any of these groups should be charities at all.

“Are they doing things that would otherwise be done by the British Government? I certainly hope not, unless the Government's policy on immigration is even crazier than I think.

“Imagine that you were working in, I don't know, a drug rehabilitation charity, you're probably dealing with people who you are aware are in possession of illegal drugs.

“You need to handle that extremely carefully. You don't want to be helping them find suppliers or enriching the mafia who are giving them drugs. But it is a fine line, and that's where I go again and say.

“I hope Keir Starmer is looking at it. If he is, he hasn't made any statement to that effect, nor has the Government.

“But there are fine lines, transparency and openness on exactly what you're doing and what you're not doing and what your protocols are, and answering questions from the media and the public needs to be done rapidly, quickly and honestly.

“I think we should probably start with the Charity Commission. Their job is to make sure charities of all types are acting appropriately…the first burden is on their shoulders, they should get on with it.”

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