So that's why Susie Green left

[DistantVworp]

Charity commission launches formal inquiry into Mermaids:
twitter.com/SexMattersOrg/status/1598666394610147329?s=20&t=x_Supvwk6lHkKBR7a-ESSw

About bloody time!

They're always nowhere to be seen once the rock gets turned over.

There seems to be a view that Mermaids are talking about "fighting back" because they're "under attack" in response to the news today.

That line from Mermaids, with the related fundraising initiative, is actually from a month ago:

twitter.com/Mermaids_Gender/status/1587856445176938498

That's damning - thorough and detailed.
Presumably many of these safeguarding problems will apply to other organisations using schools to push queer theory at children? Look at the range of dodgy adults employed by some to talk to children in schools, the safeguarding breaching "advice", anti fact /anti science training materials online and in courses, all telling children that puberty blockers are safe & reversible & surgery desirable
Almost every lobby group I can think of, including Stonewall, Educate & Celebrate, Gendered Intelligence, GIRES, Proud trust, tick one or more of these boxes with penis piano players, drag queens, extreme porn addicts all over the place.

I wonder what Mermaids' Chair of trustees Belinda Bell is making of this. After all, she gave evidence to a tribunal that was effectively "didn't happen" or "we ignored that" whenever she was asked about anything inconvenient. If she has to give evidence to the Charity Commission will she still follow that approach or will she try a different one?

They appear to have taken down the "Under Attack" page from the site

I hold no brief for Mermaids but much will depend upon the grounds of the CC investigation. People mentioning Kids Company should note that we might not, yet, know the eventual outcome of that.

What did the Charity Commission find in its investigation of Kids Company?
The commission made a formal finding of mismanagement… It said the charity operated a “high-risk business model”, heavily reliant on Batmanghelidjh’s skills as a fundraiser. It criticised its failure to keep sufficient levels of financial reserves, though accepted this was not unusual in the charity sector. It questioned whether relatively high spending on payments to a small group of high-risk children was appropriate, but accepted the charity had the right to do it. It concluded no regulatory action should be taken against the trustees or Batmanghelidjh and agreed with the high court judgment there was no evidence the trustees were dishonest, acted in bad faith or sought inappropriate personal gain.

Does this mean the whole saga is over?
There is anger in some quarters that the Charity Commission did not acknowledge the scale of the injustice experienced by the trustees and Batmanghelidjh. There were claims that the commission seemed to underplay or ignore some of the judge’s findings, including her praise for the trustees’ conduct, and the suggestion the case should never have been brought by the Official Receiver in the first place. Batmanghelidgh questioned many of the critical findings, calling it a travesty and a rewriting of history. She has threatened legal action to overturn the report.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/feb/10/charity-commission-report-into-kids-company-questions-and-answers

A formal analysis (journal article) that largely agrees with the Guardian piece. I haven't been able to find an update on the intention to overturn the report.

Despite the criticisms levelled at the charity’s trustees and Ms Batmanghelidjh by the CC Report, the most significant aspect is that the Charity Commission decided that it would take no further action against any of the trustees or Ms Batmanghelidjh.
As noted above, any suggestion that the publication of the Report marks the end of this saga may be premature. It appears that Ms Batmanghelidjh intends to challenge the decision as set out in the Report in the form of a judicial review. She has been quoted as saying that she has "been left with no option but to consider [her] legal position and seek a judicial review of the Charity Commission[’s report]". 26 In short, watch this space

www.mondaq.com/pdf/1239442.pdf

ItsAllGoingToBeFine

Boiledbeetle

I'm so looking forward to reading the Guardian's version of this

And Pink News...

To be fair to the Grauniad, they seem to have begun to grow up and discuss the issues in terms which are not entirely glowing, regarding MM. Pink News will simply write some demented, counterfactual polemic, as usual.

All this organisations which have responsibles involving safeguarding that failed to look at the standards of safeguarding going on a Mermaids you mean...

Quoting my earlier post as it occurs to me that it will be hard for MM to respond to this consultation, based on that letter (unless they already responded??):

Public Consultation - Interim Service Spec for Specialist Gender Dysphoria Services for Children/Young People www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/4659625-public-consultation-interim-service-spec-for-specialist-gender-dysphoria-services-for-childrenyoung-people

Well i hope she's in the midst of sudden bout of severe insomnia.

I thought the under attack campaign was the enactment of the Last Rites of Green so it doesn't surprise me it's gone.

Tbh i think my expectation at this stage is that the charity commission investigation won't be the end of matters.

When this was talked about in the HoC referral to the police was mentioned.

Can't see it on the BBC yet?

i think my expectation at this stage is that the charity commission investigation won't be the end of matters.

When this was talked about in the HoC referral to the police was mentioned.

For Kids Company or Mermaids?

It looks like the BBC are late to the party PaleBlueMoonlight:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-63837761

The BBC report does mention "Chest-binding allegations" but strangely hasn't mentioned any of the other recent misfortunes of Mermaids.

Mermaids. Of course, the Stonewall captured police or local authorities - or indeed the NSPCC - are unlikely to take any action against Mermaids when they've previously openly celebrated and in many cases funded them. They're all hopelessly compromised with children left vulnerable because of the lack of due diligence by these organisations.

The BBC have also done quite a good job of hiding the Mermaids story. It doesn't seem to appear on any 'front' pages and I only found it because I did a Google search for the story 🙄

I love how the BBC Mermaids is quoted thus:

"The charity has an unwavering commitment to safeguarding which is, and always will be, our top priority," a statement on Mermaids' website said."

I have an unwavering commitment to healthy eating and regular exercise but it doesn't mean that I actually do any 😂

Mentioned on radio 4 just now, headlines

Today's news has just for the first time been mentioned on Radio 4. Evan Davis isn't in the chair so someone was able to sneak it through. Just as a headline though.

That's' interesting and good. It didn't feature at all on the 4pm BBC News.

I'm presuming MM.

I'd also be wary of chasing too many parallels with KC.

The allegations and the stakes re: MM are set at a much higher bar.

As the letter posted above details, MM have acted contrary to their charter and there is plenty of evidence that their goals as a charity represent a safeguarding risk when set against Cass. Plus the myriad of other concerns over "adult" fundraising, trustees with links to pro-MAP organisations, supplying breast binders etc

KC acted unwisely and lacked appropriate financial controls, but simultaneously also did some good work on the ground and fundamentally the judge found "The judge found that there had been "no dishonesty, bad faith or personal gain on the part of Batmanghelidjh or the trustees ... Nor had there been any inappropriate expenditure on children assisted by the charity".

MM is a whole different kettle of fish....

Tick, tock...

About fucking time! Goodbye, Mermaids!

Can people contact ITV re still having the Susie Green mouthpiece drama "Butterfly" on ITV hub and the upcoming ITV X
www.itv.com/watch/butterfly/2a5387

Also the BBC re the Just A Girl radio drama series (Four series of it)
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04v8czp
How would you cope if your child was born into the wrong body? Powerful new drama by Mark Davies Markham.

Amy and her parents meet the doctor who will help them work out if hormone blockers are the right choice.

A very ordinary family has come to terms with the less ordinary experience of Amy who was born as Ben. Adamant that she is a girl from an early age, Amy is growing up fast and nervous about starting senior school, with a boy's body. Her parents, Gary and Charlotte, have to help decide whether she should take significant steps to delay puberty until she can be fully assessed for transgender treatment. The right thing to do is not clear, and their different views on what is best for their child present some very difficult choices. Granddad Ted loves them all but struggles to grasp how serious the situation is. At the same time, everyday family life goes on, and re-decorating Amy's bedroom brings her and her Granddad closer. This honest, compassionate new drama was inspired by real life experiences.

Thanks to Susie Green and the parents at Mermaids, a charity offering support to gender variant children, teenagers and their families, and the Tavistock Clinic.