Regulator steps up investigation of trans child charity Mermaids

The Charity Commission said yesterday that it has escalated its investigations into Mermaids, responding to “newly identified issues” about the governance and management of the transgender children’s charity.

A statutory inquiry has been opened into the charity, following an earlier lower-level regulatory compliance case launched in September over safeguarding allegations.

The trustees have fully cooperated with the inquiry, but the regulator said their response has “not provided the necessary reassurance or satisfied the Commission at this stage”.

Investigators will assess whether the charity’s governance is appropriate in relation to the activities it carries out, which involve vulnerable children and young people.

They will also look at the “management of the charity by trustees including its leadership and culture”, whether there has been any misconduct or mismanagement by the trustees, and whether the trustees have fulfilled their responsibilities under charity law. The Commission stated that it has not reached any conclusions at this point, and the opening of the inquiry is not a finding of wrongdoing.

It was not clear whether the unexplained resignation of the charity’s chief executive, Susie Green, on 25 November was prompted by the decision to launch the statutory inquiry.

Mermaids said it had commissioned an independent external report earlier this year “to carry out a frank and honest appraisal of our internal culture and how we measure up in terms of equity, diversity and inclusion”. It highlighted “a number of significant challenges for us”.

The Telegraph published a story in September alleging that Mermaids offered to send breast binders to children against their parents’ wishes. The Times reported a Mermaids trustee had given a presentation in 2011 for an organisation promoting “a science-informed understanding about people … with an attraction to children”. The trustee, Jacob Breslow, stepped down and Green said his appointment had been a mistake.