‘Institutional failure!’ Children in Need chief quits after BBC charity splashes £460k on grants to scandal-stricken LGBT group
The BBC Children in Need chief has quit her role after the charity granted £460,000 to an LGBT group – which has faced child sex abuse scandals.
Rosie Millard hit out at the BBC charity, accusing the body of “institutional failure” in her resignation letter, which has been seen by The Times.
The 59-year-old British broadcaster targeted chief executive Simon Antrobus for his response to the news that £466,000 was given to LGBT Youth Scotland (LGBTYS), whose aim is to support gay and transgender individuals between the ages of 13 and 25.
This massive sum was granted by the BBC charity seven months after scandal struck the LGBT group, when the chief executive of LGBTYS James Rennie was convicted of child sex abuse in 2009.
More recently, Andrew Easton, a co-author of the group’s schools guidance was convicted of sharing indecent pictures of children and newborn babies.
Millard has claimed that the organisation took action only after she highlighted the case to the chief officers and a subsequent review led to the withdrawal of the funding.
However, in her letter, Millard argued that Antrobus failed to respond with the “necessary level of seriousness”, that he only withdrew the money over fears of bad publicity and that, after he heard of the allegations, had complained that it had ruined a Bruce Springsteen concert for him.
Meanwhile, she said another individual employed by the BBC’s charity had said that a victim was “out to get” LGBTYS.
She wrote: “That they could write this about the reported rape of a child is astonishing.”
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In a statement on Wednesday night she said: “It has been an honour and a privilege to serve as Chair of BBC Children in Need.
“Witnessing the incredible impact of our supporters’ generosity on the lives of children and young people has been truly inspiring. I’m immensely proud of the collective achievements we’ve made together.”
After she announced she was stepping down, BBC director-general Time Davie applauded her “significant impact on countless children”.
However, the chief executive of the LGBT organisation Mhairi Crawford said that her resignation letter has revealed “the ideologically driven nature of her attacks on our organisation”.
She added: “We are pleased to see confirmation that Children in Need’s investigations into the work of LGBT Youth Scotland found nothing to report. Time and time again, those with anti-inclusivity motives point to historic allegations in attempts to destroy our reputation.
“Allegations that have been investigated and cleared by Police Scotland, and proven to have had no link to our work.”
A BBC Children in Need spokesperson said: “Nothing is more important to us than the safety of all children and young people.
“When allegations were made in relation to LGBT Youth Scotland, their grant was immediately suspended with the full support of the Board and a review began. In order to do this thoroughly and fairly the review took three months and culminated in the decision to withdraw funding.
“The Children in Need Board of Trustees are supportive of the actions taken by the CEO and senior leadership team and stand by the decisions made.
“Rosie at all times retained the Board’s support. In the wake of her resignation, in order to ensure any lessons learned are captured, the Trustees have instigated a review of ways of working between the Board and Executive in which Rosie has kindly agreed to participate.”