Double standards from the Charities Commission?

The Charities Commission are facing criticism and refuting accusations of acting in a "political manner" after issuing warnings to a number of community organisations in North Belfast following recent media coverage surrounding a wide variety of public spirited Civic Unionists signing a letter urging the Ulster Unionist Party to respect the deeply held wishes of the local Unionist and Loyalist community by reconsidering running a 2nd Unionist candidate in North Belfast (thus possibly costing a Unionist seat to fall into the hands of the Pan Nationalist Sinn Fein - SDLP electoral pact created for that very end) and to stand aside for the greater good of Unionism. Community organisations to whom some of the Civic Unionists are affiliated were "given until November 18 to familiarise themselves with guidance published on its website, confirm any posts which breached the guidelines had been removed and make sure all staff were aware of the organisation's obligations as a charity".

In order to closer examine the ongoing criticism of the Charities Commission and growing accusations of bias against the Unionist and Loyalist community, Unionist Truth Forum have carried out a brief investigation into previous instances where recognised representatives within the Nationalist community sector have contributed to discourse within the political arena. One such instance involved an open letter, signed by a number of self styled civic Nationalists, to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Ireland Leo Varadkar urging the Irish Government ensure that their "rights are protected" which subsequently garnered widespread coverage throughout all sections of the media. We also cross referenced some of the signatories denoted as coming from community backgrounds via the Charities Commission website to find signs of correlation, and we have some surprising (or perhaps not surprising) findings

 

One of the first signatories we cross referenced was none other than Mark Thompson, well known spokesperson (some might say Republican propagandist) for Relatives For Justice and no stranger as a contributor to the BBC Radio Ulster Talkback programme. Our investigation reveals that Relatives For Justice are registered on the Charities Commission Register of Charities. Many will no doubt be surprised that RFJ with its history of allegations of being only interested in what it would term 'victims of state violence' receives charity status at all, but our focus is solely on the comparison of Mr Thompson's signature on an open letter with a heavy political message to that of public spirited North Belfast Civic Unionists who also signed an open letter. As a side note, another signatory to the letter with a role within RFJ is Andree Murphy. Ms Murphy is also of course better known for airing her Republican views as a political commentor on Talkback.

Another signature on the 'Letter to Varadkar' from a community level which immediately springs to mind is none other then Gerard Rice who sprang to infamy during the 'Lower Ormeau' Concerned residents campaign of concerted attempts to deny the right of the local Protestant and Unionist and Loyalist community's cultural expression along a stretch of the Ormeau Road. Mr Rice subsequently went on to hold a well known community role with the 'Lower Ormeau' Residents Action Group. A quick cross reference also reveals that LORAG are also in the position of holding Charity Status with the Charities Commission.

As a result of this investigation's findings, Unionist Truth Forum are calling on the Charities Commission to publically clarify its position with regard to those signatories from Nationalists within the community sector and what, if any, action taken comparible to that of warnings given to PUL community organisations has been taken by the Charities Commission. If not for much needed reassurances to the Unionist and Loyalist community of transparency and impartiality, then at least to ensure the Charities Commission retains more than a shred of credibility