Letters | 9 May 2019

Scrutinising charities

Sir: Toby Young was right to raise questions about War on Want’s links to the Stop Trump campaign (4 May). The public rightly hold charities to high standards of behaviour, and charities are required to follow clear rules around political activity. We will be scrutinising the charity’s activities, and the issues raised by Toby Young, closely as part of an ongoing case into the charity. Similarly, we have examined concerns about the activities of a range of charitable thinktanks, and last year issued a regulatory alert to all charitable thinktanks on the register, including to warn them about unacceptable political activity. I can assure your readers that as an evidence-based regulator, we assess all concerns raised with us fairly and consistently against a clear regulatory framework. We will continue to do so without fear or favour.
David Holdsworth,
Deputy chief executive, Charity Commission

Marijuana use is not trivial

Sir: It is difficult to decide whether to condemn Chris Daw QC (‘A bitter pill’, 4 May) for his defeatism, or for his wilful ignorance of the true state of law enforcement in this country.