The Charity Commission has launched a statutory inquiry into the Aspinall Foundation, a wildlife conservation charity that recently appointed Carrie Symonds, the prime minister's partner, as head of communications. The investigation will focus on potential trustee conflicts of interest and possible misuse of charitable resources.
The watchdog's decision follows a pre-inquiry regulatory compliance case opened in November, after which further governance concerns were identified. The commission stressed that opening an inquiry does not imply wrongdoing but represents its most serious level of investigation, used only when there is serious concern about risk of abuse.
The Aspinall Foundation is chaired by casino owner Damian Aspinall, and its trustees include members of the Goldsmith and Aspinall families. The charity's latest accounts (to December 2019) show it rented a 30-room mansion to Aspinall for £2,500 per month and paid his wife Victoria £12,500 for interior design services in 2019, down from £50,000 the previous year. Additionally, £64,000 was paid to Alvarium for accounting services; trustee Charles Filmer is a director of Alvarium.
A separate statutory inquiry has been announced into Howlett's Wild Animal Trust, also chaired by Aspinall. The foundation said it remains committed to its duties and will cooperate transparently with the commission. The matters under investigation predate Symonds' appointment, and she is not implicated.
The foundation was established by John Aspinall, a gambler and zoo owner. Former trustee Zac Goldsmith, now an environment minister, stepped down in August 2019 before the commission's initial contact. The commission conducted 67 statutory inquiries in 2019-20.
