Tag Archives: HM Government

The Charity Commission, the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales, has opened a statutory inquiry into Islamic Trust (Maidenhead), registered charity number 1034710. The inquiry was opened on 19 April 2017.

The charity, based in Maidenhead, has objects to provide facilities of worship and educational services for individuals practicing the Islamic faith.

In 2016 the charity was included in the Commission’s class inquiry into charities that are in default for submitting their statutory returns for 2 or more financial years. The charity was removed from the inquiry after the overdue accounts were submitted, and the Commission provided regulatory advice and guidance to the trustees in respect to their legal obligation to file accounts on time. Following the charity’s removal from the class inquiry, the trustees wrote to the Commission and provided assurances that the charity’s future statutory returns would be filed on time.

In February 2017, the trustees again failed to meet their legal obligations to file the charity’s statutory returns for the financial year end March 2016 on time. The trustees’ repeated failure to comply with their legal duties, particularly given the assurances previously provided, and the continued evidence of mismanagement and misconduct in the administration of the charity warrants further investigation from the Commission as part of an inquiry.

The inquiry will examine:

• the administration, governance and management of the charity by the trustees
• the financial controls and management of the charity
• the conduct of the trustees
• whether or not the trustees have complied with and fulfilled their duties and responsibilities as trustees under charity law

In opening the inquiry, the Commission has exercised its legal powers and made an order directing the trustees to file the charity’s outstanding statutory returns.

It is the Commission’s policy, after it has concluded an inquiry, to publish a report detailing what issues the inquiry looked at, what actions were undertaken as part of the inquiry and what the outcomes were. Reports of previous inquiries by the Commission are available on GOV.UK.

The charity’s details can be viewed on the Commission’s online charity search tool.

Ends

PR 36/17

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Notes to editors

1. The Charity Commission is the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales. To find out more about our work, see our annual report.
2. Search for charities on our online register.
3. Details of how the Commission reports on its regulatory work can be found on GOV.UK.
4. The purpose of an inquiry to examine issues in detail and investigate and establish the facts so that the regulator can ascertain whether there has been misconduct and mismanagement; establish the extent of the risk to the charity’s property, beneficiaries or work; decide what action needs to be taken to resolve the serious concerns, if necessary using its investigative, protective and remedial powers to do so.
5. The Commission’s decision to announce the opening of a statutory inquiry is based on whether it is in the public interest to do so and with consideration of our objective to increase public trust and confidence in charities.
6. On 22 December 2016, the Commission published a report online detailing the findings of the class inquiry into the charity.
7. The Commission issued the Order under section 84 of the Charities Act 2011 on 19 April 2017. Section 84 gives the Commission the power to direct any action to be taken that it considers expedient in the interests of the charity.

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The Queen has approved the nomination of the Venerable Peter Andrew Eagles QHC, BA, MTh, AKC, Deputy Chaplain-General HM Land Forces; Archdeacon for the Army, and Honorary Canon of Salisbury Cathedral, for election as Bishop of Sodor and Man in succession to the Right Reverend Robert Mar Erskine Paterson, MA, on his resignation on 11 November 2016.

The Venerable Peter Eagles, aged 57, studied at the School of Slavonic; East European Studies and at King’s College, London, and at the Universities of Heidelberg and Oxford. He trained for the ordained ministry at St Stephen’s House, Oxford.

He served his title at St Martin’s, Ruislip in the Diocese of London from 1989 to 1992. Since1992 he has served as a Chaplain in the British Army, ministering to soldiers and families and the wider community in many locations in the United Kingdom and overseas, including military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has been Archdeacon for the Army since 2011, Honorary Chaplain to the Queen since 2013, and Honorary Canon of Salisbury Cathedral since 2015. He is a graduate of the Royal College of Defence Studies.

Peter is married to Gail, whom he met in the parish in Ruislip and with whom he has since lived in 14 different places in 25 years, and they have a son who graduated in 2016 from Balliol College and now works for a publishing firm in Oxford.

His interests include European languages and literature (in which he maintains active academic study and research), cross-cultural learning and discussion, restoring a small ancient house, and playing baroque arias on the oboe.

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Fatal man overboard from the fishing vessel Pauline Mary while east of Hartlepool.

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2015 – present Cabinet Office, Director of Security and Intelligence, National Security Secretariat 2014 – 2015 Member, Royal College of Defence Studies 2012 – 2014 No 10 Downing Street, Private Secretary to the Prime Minister 2009 – 2012 Home Office, Head of Drugs and Alcohol and Head of Policing 2007 – 2009 HM Treasury, Delivery Manager, Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit 2001 – 2007 Surrey County Council, Lead Manager, Children’s Services read more

Crew members of 514 Squadron based at RAF Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire who died when their aircraft crashed killing all 7 onboard were honoured in a service of commemoration on Friday 28 April 2017 at Heverlee War Cemetery, Vlaams-Brabant, Belgium.

The Reverend Ashley Mitchell RAF delivers the Service of Commemoration. Copyright Danielle Roubroeks. All rights reserved.

The service, organised by the MOD’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC), part of Defence Business Services was conducted by the Reverend (Wing Commander) Ashley Mitchell RAF and supported by RAF Defence Staff based in Belgium. The ceremony was attended by British and Australian Defence Staff, 514 Squadron representatives and local dignitaries.

Flying Officer Lloyd Burgess RAF delivers the RAF Collect at the Service of Commemoration. Copyright Danielle Roubroeks. All rights reserved.

Beverley Simon, JCCC said:

It has been a tremendous privilege for the JCCC to have organised this service of commemoration for the 7 crew members of Lancaster NN775 and to ensure that the appropriate level of dignity, ceremony and respect has been afforded.

We are especially delighted that so many of the crew’s families were able to attend the service, some from as far afield as the USA.

On 5 March 1945, the crew members of Lancaster NN775 took off from RAF Waterbeach for a raid on Gelsenkirchen, Belgium. While flying near Tirlemont, the aircraft suddenly went into a dive from which the pilot was unable to recover. All of the crew were buried together in a collective grave in Heverlee War Cemetery in Belgium.

The crew members remembered were:

Rank and full name	Role	Age	Place of birth
Sergeant Christopher George Hogg	Mid-Upper Gunner	20	South Yardley, Birmingham
Sergeant William Marsden	Flight Engineer	20	Chorley, Lancashire
Flying Officer Holman Gordon Stanley Kerr	Pilot	23	Lurgan, Co. Armagh, Northern Ireland
Sergeant Herbert Percival Thomas	Rear Gunner	23	Clarendon, Jamaica
Flight Sergeant Allan Olsen RAAF	Wireless Operator/Air Gunner	21	Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia
Flight Sergeant Sidney Smith	Navigator	21	Not stated
Flying Officer Frank Clarke	Air Bomber	Not stated	Not stated

Families of all of the crew were traced and 17 family members were present at the ceremony with wreaths being laid on behalf of all 7 crew by each of the respective families. Amongst the relatives who paid their respects included the niece of Sergeant Herbert Thomas (Joe), Paulette Thomas, who had travelled with her family from the USA to attend the ceremony. Joe’s family were originally from Cuba but migrated to Jamaica. As Jamaica was under British rule in 1945, Joe was listed as a UK national.

Paulette Thomas said:

My uncle died long before my siblings and I were born but his essence was deep rooted in our family. It is awesome that there is a family thousands of miles across the ocean who knew him and can share with us memories and pictures of him. We honour his service and are proud to call him family.

Jeff Temple, nephew of Sergeant Sidney Smith said:

Our uncle Sidney was the Navigator on Lancaster NN775. My sister Susan and I were raised with Sidney very much present, with his photograph on the mantelpiece and our mother telling us stories of him fighting extremism. He was our hero, and gone, but not forgotten.

The excavation and the present commemoration have brought him to life for us, and we thank everyone involved for the opportunity to pay our respects to this young man, and indeed to all the crew. These young men are heroes to each of us, and remind us of our duty to continue with this fight for tolerance.

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