The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into the Aspinall Foundation, a wildlife charity where the prime minister's partner, Carrie Symonds, recently took up a top communications role. The watchdog is investigating potential trustee conflicts of interest and possible misuse of charitable resources.
The inquiry, announced on Wednesday, follows a pre-inquiry compliance case opened in November and escalated after further governance questions emerged. The commission stressed that opening an inquiry is not a finding of wrongdoing, but it represents its most serious level of investigation, used when there is serious concern about risk to a charity.
The Aspinall Foundation is chaired by casino owner Damian Aspinall and its board includes members of the Goldsmith and Aspinall families. Its latest accounts reveal that a 30-room mansion owned by the charity in Kent was rented to Aspinall for £2,500 a month. In 2019, the charity also paid his wife Victoria £12,500 for interior design services, 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 also been opened into Howlett's Wild Animal Trust, also chaired by Aspinall, which runs wildlife parks in Kent. The spokesman for the Aspinall Foundation said the charity remains committed to its ethical and legal duties and will work openly with the commission.
The matters under investigation pre-date Symonds' appointment, and there is no suggestion she is a subject of the inquiry. However, the timing is awkward for the former Conservative spin doctor, whose role was announced just two months ago.
