Open letter to support the judicial review of the Charity Commission report on Kids Company

We support the judicial review of the Charity Commission’s 2022 report on Kids Company, scheduled for 19-20 March 2025. This review is crucial not only for seeking justice for the charity and its founder Camila Batmanghelidjh, who sadly passed away on 1 January 2024, but also for upholding the integrity of the entire charitable sector in the UK.

In February 2021, the High Court unequivocally stated that false allegations, not operational issues, led to Kids Company’s closure. No evidence of wrongdoing or fund misuse was found. But in its 2022 report, the Charity Commission chose not to accurately represent these findings, prompting this judicial review to ensure that the report is consistent with the facts.

In 2014 Kids Company, with a team of 600 professionals and 10,000 volunteers, supported vulnerable children through therapeutic and practical services. The organisation filled gaps left by government services, advocating for systemic change under Batmanghelidjh’s leadership. The tragic closure of Kids Company in 2015 halted the redesign of childrens’ services through the See the Child, Change the System initiative.

The Charity Commission’s report raises serious concerns about regulatory ethics and impartiality. The report inaccurately depicts the reasons for Kids Company’s closure, abjectly failing to acknowledge the harmful impact of unfounded allegations and external pressures on the charity.

For 19 years, Kids Company regularly submitted and passed all its audits to the government and consequently received further funding. We call on the Charity Commission to amend its report in line with Justice Falk’s High Court findings at the end of a 10-week court case and a detailed 225-page judgment.

In loving memory of Camila and all who supported Kids Company, we seek accountability, transparency, and justice from the Charity Commission. We urge the public to stand behind this significant judicial review.

Dame Jenny Abramsky, former BBC director of audio and music and chair of the National Heritage Memorial Fund
Barbie Antonis, psychoanalyst
Batmanghelidjh family
Sir George Benjamin, composer and conductor
Guy Berryman, Coldplay
Sir Richard Bowlby, adviser to the Wave Trust and patron of The Bowlby Centre for Attachment-Based Psychotherapy
Baroness Rosie Boycott, journalist and author
Professor Stephen Briggs, emeritus professor, University of East London and psychotherapist
Jonny Buckland, Coldplay
Jaime Burton KC, Doughty Street Chambers
Nina Campbell OBE
Sarina N Campbell, consultant child and adolescent psychotherapist
Steve Chalke MBE FRSA, founder, Oasis Charitable Trust
Will Champion, Coldplay
Dr Wendy Denning
Sir Stephen Frears, film director and producer
Bella Freud, fashion designer
Elizabeth Gower, founder, Academy Films
Dr Peter Green, founder, National Network of Designated Healthcare Professionals for Children
Viviane Green, child, adolescent and adult psychotherapist
Lord Tony Hall
Lord Dr Michael Hastings CBE, chairman, SOAS University London & president, UK Community Foundations
Phil Harvey, Coldplay
Dr Saul Hillman, senior research fellow (Anna Freud Centre, University College London)
Angela Joyce, psychoanalyst
Michael Kerman, clinical director, Oasis Nurture
Wilhelmina Kraemer-Zurne, psychoanalyst
Dame Joanna Lumley
Joy Madeiros, co-founder, Oasis Charitable Trust
Chris Martin, Coldplay
Jo Maugham, executive director, Good Law Project
Dame Caroline Michel, literary agent and chairwoman, Hay Festival
Sheila Miller, child psychotherapist, psychoanalytic psychotherapist
David Morgan, consultant psychotherapist and psychoanalyst
Graham Music, consultant child and adolescent psychotherapist and adult psychotherapist
Alice Nutter, writer
Jane O’Rourke, child, adolescent & family psychotherapist and founder, MINDinMIND
Susie Orbach, psychotherapist and psychoanalyst
Deepti Patel, co-founder of the Camila Batmanghelidjh Foundation
Tim Rayment, writer and journalist, oo-author, Kids
Dr Adah Sachs, psychoanalytic psychotherapist
Dr Valerie Sinason, president, Institute of Psychotherapy and Disability
Lemn Sissay OBE FRSL
Professor Mark Solms, psychoanalyst and neuropsychologist
Dr Jo Stubley, consultant psychoanalyst, Tavistock Trauma Unit
Tony Tabatznik, founder, Bertha Foundation
Professor David Tuckett, director, the Centre for the Study of Decision-Making Uncertainty (University College London)
Professor Essi Viding, University College London
The Rt Revd Dr Rowan Williams
Kate White, retired psychotherapist
Sally and Martin Woodcock
Kirsty Wright
Alan Yentob CBE, former chair of trustees, Kids Company
Marie Zaphiriou Woods, psychoanalyst and child psychotherapist