Number of charities linked to terrorism soars to record high after trebling in three years, warns watchdog

Jan 2, 2017 by Jill

by Paddy Dinham, Mailonline:

The head of the Charity Commission has warned that extremism is ‘the most potentially dangerous and deadly’ problem faced by organisations after allegations soared to a record high.

William Shawcross’ comments come after it emerged allegations of links between them and terrorist groups has almost trebled in three years.

The watchdog shared concerns about links between charities and extremism with police and other agencies 630 times in 2015/16, up from 234 in 2013/14.

Four inquires were opened into ‘allegations of abuse of charities for terrorist or extremist purposes’ over the last year.

The 630 disclosures, which the Sunday Telegraph said was a record figure, related to ‘allegations made and concerns about abuse of charities for terrorist or extremist purposes, including concerns about charities operating in Syria and other higher risk areas, in which terrorist groups operate’.

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