Everyone but me is to blame, says Kids Co founder
THE controversial founder of the defunct Kids Company charity yesterday blamed everyone but herself for its demise.
Camila Batmanghelidjh said civil servants and politicians were behind the collapse of the charity, which was hit by a string of allegations relating to financial impropriety two years ago.
But at no point during a heated TV interview did she accept any responsibility for its closure. Kids Company, based in south London, received more than £42million of taxpayers’ money over 15 years.
Appearing on the Victoria Derbyshire show on BBC 2, Miss Batmanghelidjh was asked if she accepted some responsibility for the suffering caused by the implosion of the children’s charity. She said: ‘We were not responsible for the closure of this company.’
‘Not at all?,’ asked presenter Miss Derbyshire. ‘No, and I’m being absolutely clear about that,’ Miss Batmanghelidjh replied.
Asked if she would apologise to donors and taxpayers over the charity’s spending, Miss Batmanghelidjh said: ‘I don’t think we wasted money. Why are you assuming that we wasted money?’
Miss Derbyshire put to her instances of a client spending £305 on a pair of shoes, someone’s PhD studies being funded, and a stay at Champneys spa for a man with mental health problems who booked a chocolate massage treatment.
Miss Batmanghelidjh said these were ‘minor details’, adding: ‘You’re not asking me the questions that really matter, which is: why was Kids Company left with 17,000 children who were statutory responsibility with no-one willing to pay for it?
‘Why were we getting that type of child through our doors?’
She continued: ‘There was a politically motivated dismantling of Kids Company through a systematically driven malicious campaign by some civil
‘Malicious campaign’
servants and politicians.’ The former charity head became increasingly frustrated with the line of questioning, accusing Miss Derbyshire of interrogating her in an ‘immensely biased’ and ‘highly manipulative’ way.
The Government backed a Cabinet Office decision to award the organisation £3million days before it closed for good. In a sign of official concerns at that decision, a senior Whitehall official took the rare step of requiring a written order from ministers before agreeing to the lifeline.
In July it emerged that Miss Batmanghelidjh and the charity’s ex-chairman, former BBC creative director Alan Yentob, face being disqualified from running companies under proceedings brought by the Government.