Charity watchdog 'assessing' claims made against Sistah Space after Buckingham Palace race row
14 December 2022, 20:34
The charity at the heart of the Buckingham Palace race row is being "assessed" by a watchdog over a number of allegations.
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The Charity Commission said it would consider material posted to social media which questioned Sistah Space's finances and organisation.
Its founder, Ngozi Fulani, was asked where she is "really" by Lady Susan Hussey, Queen Elizabeth's lady-in-waiting and Prince William's godmother, at a palace event. Lady Susan quit her job over the affair.
Since then, Sistah Space has been abused over social media and caused the domestic violence charity to temporarily stop its work.
But the furore has attracted the attention of the Charity Commission and the finance boss at the Greater London Assembly, which provided grants in 2019 and 2020, including £12,000 in 2019.
It received £357,000 in grants and donations, according to accounts for the year to March 2021, including from the assembly, the culture department and Comic Relief.
A Charity Commission spokesman said: "We are assessing material posted on social media about the charity Sistah Space to determine whether it raises matters that fall within the Charity Commission's remit."
It has not opened an investigation.
Meanwhile, Neil Garratt, a Conservative in the London Assembly, said he had asked the chief finance officer to "look into this issue and report back as soon as possible".
Sistah Space has said it struggled with its growth since registering as a charity in 2018, with the absence of a finance officer causing "massive disruption in the organisation's ability to record accounts in a timely manner", it said in its annual report.
The charity said it has since hired an independent accounting firm.
"Sistah Space has not been approached by the Charity Commission. What we do know is they are assessing information posted on social media, part of their normal procedure, but haven't opened an official investigation, however should they contact us we will of course cooperate fully," a spokesman for Sistah Space said.
Read more: ‘It’s gaslighting and malarkey for Ngozi Fulani to say she was violated’ claims Nick Ferrari caller
Previously, Ms Fulani said she and her team had suffered "horrific abuse" over social media.
The charity said in a statement: "Thank you for the continued support and messages.
"Unfortunately recent events meant that we were forced to temporarily cease many of our operations to ensure the safety of our service users and our team.
"We are overwhelmed by the amount of support and encouragement and look forward to fully reinstating our services as soon as safely possible."
