The Charity Commission has cleared City of Sanctuary UK of wrongdoing after false allegations that it encouraged schoolchildren to send Valentine's Day cards to asylum seekers. The regulator found the claims, which sparked vicious online attacks, were misleading and unfounded.
The controversy began last year when rumours spread on social media that under the charity's Schools of Sanctuary programme, children were being 'forced' to write heart-shaped welcome cards to adult migrants, including cards addressed to 'my fiance'. Conservative MP Gavin Williamson made a formal complaint, alleging the charity acted in a 'highly politicised' manner.
In a finding published on Tuesday, the Charity Commission rejected Williamson's complaint. Helen Earner, director of regulatory services, said: 'In this case, concerns about the charity's work were fuelled by online misinformation... After examining the available evidence, we found the claims to be misleading and that the Schools of Sanctuary programme is within the charity's purposes.'
The commission concluded that while heart-shaped general messages of welcome were displayed in schools, at no point did children write cards to individual adult asylum seekers or refugees. City of Sanctuary said the cards bore expressions such as 'welcome to our town' or 'we hope you feel safe here'.
A spokesperson for City of Sanctuary UK said: 'The misinformation campaign we were subject to had a real impact on our team and the schools we work with... We know we are not alone – a number of other organisations working in this field have faced similar experiences.'
