Horse charity chief received car allowance while banned

THE chief executive of the UK’S largest horse charity was paid a motoring allowance while banned from driving, it has emerged.

The British Horse Society is under scrutiny by the Charity Commission amid claims of mismanagement of funds and a “toxic culture” within the organisation.

Lynn Petersen was given a six-month ban for speeding in 2016 but continued to receive an allowance for her car’s running costs. She repaid the money after the charity’s treasurer investigated. It is not known how much money she received.

The ban was imposed at the same time the charity was running a speed awareness campaign to encourage drivers to slow to 15mph when passing horses, although this was disputed by David Sheerin, the charity’s chairman, who said the charity published research on “equine incidents on our roads” in March 2016 but that it was not until 2017 that it became a campaign.

However, a press release on the charity’s website from March 2016 announced: “The charity today (March 24, 2016) announces the launch of a campaign urging drivers to slow down to 15mph when they meet a horse and rider on the road.”

Mr Sheerin said Ms Petersen reported her ban at the time and the treasurer concluded she should not have received an allowance while banned. Ms Petersen repaid the amount.

The incident was reported to the Charity Commission, which concluded that the driving ban had been “appropriately managed” by the charity.

More than 20 former employees and volunteers have told The Daily Telegraph about their concerns over the working environment in the organisation, with some saying said they had seen colleagues reduced to tears and forced to take time off work for stress.

Mr Sheerin said the charity did receive complaints about treatment of staff and misuse of funds, but an independent firm had concluded they were “unfounded”.

Ms Petersen also faced criticism for using charity funds to fly business class to China in 2017.

Mr Sheerin travelled business class on the same trip and said the tickets had been bought at a discount and were “well under half the usual price” and that the trip was funded through a “self-financing” arm of the charity.