Probe launched into Labour-linked charity
The Charity Commission has launched an inquiry into the links between the Smith Institute, a left-leaning think tank, and chancellor Gordon Brown.
The watchdog was responding Conservative party concerns that the institute should not be classed as a charity while it was so closely aligned with members of the Labour party.
Shadow minister Chris Grayling wrote to the commission earlier this week complaining about a recent lecture by senior institute member Bob Shrum, who allegedly gave detailed advice to the audience on how to defeat David Cameron.
“I believe this level of party political activity goes well beyond the norm for a political think tank,” he wrote.
He claims the institute has been given extensive access to use the offices at No 11 Downing Street – the chancellor’s official residence – saying it had admitted to holding more than 200 events there since it was founded in 1997.
It also reportedly employed Mr Brown’s closest political aide, Ed Balls, between the time he was selected as a Labour parliamentary candidate and his election to parliament. Mr Balls is now economic secretary to the Treasury.
The commission has been in talks with the Smith Institute – which was founded in memory of former Labour leader John Smith – since December, but today announced it was opening a formal inquiry into its work.
It said: “The scope of the inquiry is to determine whether the Smith Institute is both established and operating as a charity advancing the education of the public in the field of study and research into the economy of the United Kingdom.”
Mr Grayling praised the move, saying: “There have been so many question marks about the relationship between the institute and Gordon Brown and his inner circle, as well as about some of its activities, that it is essential that the matter is properly investigated and resolved one way or other.”
In a statement, the institute said it welcomed the commission’s decision to “formalise” the discussions between the two organisations, adding: “The trustees have been vigilant in ensuring that the Smith Institute is operating within its charitable objects.”
