Naomi Campbell’s charity was reported to the Charity Commission by UNICEF over a fashion event in 2019, the humanitarian organisation has said.
It comes after the supermodel was banned from being a charity trustee for five years last week, following an inquiry that concluded only a small proportion of money raised by Fashion For Relief went to good causes.
After the findings were made public by the Charity Commission, Campbell said she was “extremely concerned”, that she was “not in control” of the charity, and that an investigation on her part was under way.
Fashion For Relief was dissolved and removed from the register of charities earlier this year.
Image: Campbell at the 2019 event. Pic: AP
Now, humanitarian organisation UNICEF has said it did make a report to the Charity Commission over a star-studded event held during London Fashion Week in 2019.
According to the Guardian, in a brochure for the event on a page displaying the UNICEF logo, Fashion For Relief said funds raised would “support UNICEF’s efforts to provide the essential interventions to protect, save lives and ensure the rights of all children, everywhere”.
UNICEF has said it never held any partnership with Fashion For Relief and did not receive any funds from the show.
In a statement, a spokesperson for UNICEF said: “We take fundraising compliance very seriously and UNICEF UK reported Fashion For Relief 2019 to the Charity Commission, as per our statutory requirements.
“We have never held any official partnership with Fashion For Relief and we have never received any funds from the 2019 event.”
An official ambassadorial role with UNICEF “comes after many years of commitment and support”, the spokesperson added.
A spokesperson for Campbell said she “never held herself out as a representative of UNICEF, although she worked with them”.
Details on the Fashion For Relief website say proceeds went to the Mayor’s Fund for London.
Campbell was discovered as a schoolgirl, and she went on to become the first black British model to appear on the cover of British Vogue.
The 54-year-old welcomed her second child, a son, last year, following a daughter born in 2021.
A British fashion designer has been reunited with a piece that went missing almost 40 years ago after the garment was found in a charity shop.
Jean Pallant said she was “over the moon” when she was told the one-of-a-kind orange coat had turned up in a donation bag at the Oxfam store in Mill Hill, northwest London.
Shop manager Marina Ikey-Botchway made the discovery among high street fashion clothes and said she could immediately tell the garment was a priceless item.
Ms Pallant, who was part of the 1960s cultural revolution and designed clothes with her husband Martin, who died recently, said she was “very excited” by the find.
Image: The garment was missing for almost 40 years. Pic: Gabi Torres/Oxfam/PA
“I was absolutely over the moon, really. It was very sweet of the person who discovered it to believe that it was something important,” she said.
“It’s like seeing a child. It’s lovely. I know every single square inch of it, and I’m absolutely amazed that it looks so new, and it feels new. Everything about it looks exactly as it did when it went missing.”
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She made the coat, which has large, round dark buttons, on her kitchen table in 1988 and it featured in a Sunday Telegraph article that year.
But she felt “sick” to discover the garment had gone missing, along with five other pieces which have still not been found, when she went to retrieve some clothes from her warehouse nearly four decades ago.
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“When we retrieved them all, there were these pieces which I remember, of course, because they’re all my babies. These pieces were missing, and there’s nothing I can do about it,” she said.
“I’d love those to turn up. There are some really special pieces that I’d like back in our collection for our archive. Maybe they’ll turn up, who knows?
“One of them was a piece which is so important to us, which was made in 1972 I think. It was worn by me in a TV fashion show to celebrate Britain joining the common market and it was a beautiful white jumpsuit and jacket with little mink spots on it.
“I’d pay anything to get it back.”
The coat was chosen by sixties fashion model Penelope Tree to walk in Oxfam’s Style for Change fashion show, in partnership with Vinted, as part of its Second Hand September campaign.
Ms Pallant is restoring and curating a Pallant collection to give to the V&A Museum in London.
Joint mortgages can be used as a “weapon” by domestic abusers against their current or former partners, a charity has warned.
A report by Surviving Economic Abuse (SEA) said survivors of domestic abuse have been left with mortgage arrears, low credit ratings, and housing and economic insecurity.
At times, they said abusers have made their victims homeless by refusing to pay, agreeing to new terms, or selling up a joint mortgage.
One woman told the charity she is still in a joint mortgage with her former husband despite leaving him a decade ago.
“I can’t sell the property without his permission and, at any point, he can use his position to stop me from making mortgage repayments by withholding child support payments,” she said.
“Me and my children remain trapped in a mortgage prison with no way out.”
Image: The SEA report said 78% of women who experienced mortgage abuse felt unable to leave for fear of an unsafe living arrangement
Pic: iStock
Sam Smethers, interim chief executive of SEA, has now called for new laws to protect victims and for financial services firms to make it harder for perpetrators to use joint mortgages to cause harm.
“Mortgage abuse is a hidden crime that’s destroying the lives of hundreds of thousands of survivors,” he said.
“Right now, banks are limited in what they can do to stop abusers from causing a lifetime of debt and homelessness for survivors.
“While banks can do more to support survivors within current rules, only an urgent law change can stop abusers from destroying lives.
“We urge the government to set up an economic abuse task force to prevent abusers from weaponising joint mortgages.”
Read more: Victims to receive ‘flee funds’ to escape abusive partners Survivors forced to stay with abusers during cost of living crisis
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The report – called Locked into a Mortgage, Locked out of my Home – referenced a survey by Opinium of more than 1,000 women who had a joint mortgage, carried out in the last two years.
It found 78% of women who experienced mortgage abuse from a partner felt unable to leave for fear of an unsafe living arrangement.
One in eight women – or 12% – said they experienced at least one aspect of abuse, and nearly half – 49% – said they had to cut back on essentials to cover their mortgage repayments.
Nine in 10 said their mental health suffered as a result of mortgage abuse, with 89% of respondents saying they experienced anxiety, depression, panic attacks or suicidal thoughts.
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Fiona Turner, head of vulnerability policy at UK Finance, said: “We know that more needs to be done with support from regulators and government.”
She added UK Finance has recommended mortgage lenders “review their policies to allow more flexibility when a victim-survivor is dealing with issues around an existing joint mortgage as lenders must currently show an equal responsibility to both borrowers”, and said a government task force is needed to address legal issues for lenders.
A government spokesperson said: “We recognise the devastating impact financial and economic abuse can have on victims, which is why this year we are providing £200,000 to Surviving Economic Abuse to raise awareness and support victims.
“The numbers in this report, which we are now considering, are stark and show how vital our mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade is.”
A 10-year-old girl who cut off her hair for charity for a second time has said she feels “really proud”.
Lexie Warwick-Oliver, from Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire, had the chop on Saturday afternoon and is now donating 13 inches of hair to make a wig for a young person with cancer.
“I’m feeling really proud of myself,” she said.
“I felt a bit nervous at first, but I really like my hair now and I’m really relieved it is over and done with.”
Lexie has autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) – which made the haircut even more challenging.
“It’s very difficult for Lexie to let anybody touch her because of her autism, so we did struggle a bit today, but we got through it,” said Lexie’s mother, Jess Warwick-Oliver.
Image: Lexie Warwick-Oliver with her mother Jess. Pic: PA
The hair salon in Horsforth offered Lexie a discount and gave her some curly hair products after they found out why she was having the cut.
Her hair will be posted to the Little Princess Trust, a charity which provides free wigs to young people who have lost their hair due to cancer or other conditions.
Lexie will receive a certificate from the charity to congratulate her on her efforts.
In 2021, the youngster cut off 16 inches of hair for the charity, as well as raising £500 to support the daughter of a family friend who had leukaemia.
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It took Lexie three years to grow out her hair again so that she had enough to be turned into a wig.
The 10-year-old has also been raising money for sensory items for those with additional needs at Howard Park Community School, her primary school.
Image: Lexie Warwick-Oliver before she had her hair cut. Pic: PA
She wants to get bubble lights, fidget spinners and space blankets for pupils as she has first-hand experience of the benefits.
“They make me feel better, more regulated and calmer,” she said.
When asked what her message was to others who have autism or ADHD, Lexie said: “Don’t let anyone try to stop you from achieving your goals. Ignore them and keep going.”
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The schoolgirl added she hopes she can inspire others to follow her hair-cutting example.
“Hopefully they’ll see what I did and feel comfortable enough to cut their hair and donate to people with cancer, so it’ll make them feel better,” she said.
“Don’t be nervous about cutting off hair – be brave, it’ll grow back.”
Ms Warwick-Oliver said she is “so proud” of her daughter.
“She’s done this and it has been so selfless – she’s not done it for herself, it’s for two causes and I’m really proud of her.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Archewell Foundation has been labelled “delinquent” by California’s Registry of Charities and Fundraisers for failing to submit annual records.
A letter was sent to the charity on 3 May saying the foundation is “listed as delinquent” for “failing to submit required annual report(s) and/or renewal fees”.
The letter said an organisation listed as delinquent is banned from “soliciting or disbursing charitable funds” and its registration may be “suspended or revoked”.
It is understood that a physical cheque was sent by Archewell Foundation but not received, and a new one has been sent to resolve the issue.
It is believed the charity was only made aware of this when the delinquency notice was published.
Now that a new cheque has been posted, the foundation expects the issue will be resolved, with this being reflected in records within seven business days.
The letter from California‘s Registry of Charities and Fundraisers warned: “An organisation that is listed as delinquent is not in good standing and is prohibited from engaging in conduct for which registration is required, including soliciting or disbursing charitable funds.
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“The organisation may also be subject to penalties and its registration may be suspended or revoked by the registry.
“Once you submit the delinquent record(s), you will be notified of the amount of any late fees that are owed.”
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Archewell Foundation is a non-profit organisation that was created by Harry and Meghan in 2020.
On its website, the foundation says its mission is to “show up, do good”, adding: “We meet the moment by showing up, taking action and using our unparalleled spotlight to uplift and unite communities – local and global – through acts of service and compassion.”
Image: The couple arrive to meet students at the Lightway Academy up on their arrival in Abuja, Nigeria last week. Pic: Reuters
The couple visited a local charity, Giants of Africa, in Lagos, Nigeria, on Sunday, as part of a three-day visit to the country.
There, Harry and Meghan unveiled a partnership between Giants of Africa and the Archewell Foundation.
Antisemitic incidents referencing the Holocaust have increased by 104% across the UK in 2023, new figures obtained by Sky News show.
The Community Security Trust (CST), a charity that protects British Jews from antisemitism, last year received 955 reports of Holocaust-related antisemitism, defined as incidents containing some kind of reference to the Holocaust, Nazis, Hitler or swastikas.
That number is more than double the 469 incidents reported in 2022.
Of these instances, more than half occurred after the 7 October attacks, when Hamas killed around 1,200 Israelis and abducted more than 200 others.
More than 26,000 people in Gaza have been killed in Israel’s retaliation, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-ruled strip, and more than 64,400 wounded.
The CST charity said incidents involving Holocaust denial also rose significantly in 2023 – increasing by 268% on the year before.
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2:43
Survivors recall the horrors of the Holocaust almost eight decades on.
The figures were released as the UK marks Holocaust Memorial Day, commemorating 79 years since the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp was liberated.
‘I can’t believe this is England’
Holocaust Memorial Day commemorates the victims of the Holocaust, and of more recent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur.
Six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust at the hands of the Nazis.
Image: Holocaust survivor Kurt Marx as a child, and a 98-year-old. Pic: Association of Jewish Refugees/Kurt Marx
People across the UK are being urged to light a candle in their memory, while London landmarks including the London Eye will be lit up in purple to mark the occasion.
Lady Milena Grenfell-Baines was one of hundreds of Jewish refugees rescued in 1939 by Sir Nicholas Winton, who rescued 669 children from Czechoslovakia, bringing them to the UK and sparing them from Nazi persecution.
Image: Sir Nicholas Winton with Lady Milena Grenfell-Baines. Pic: Association of Jewish Refugees/Lady Grenfell-Baines
More than 80 years later, Lady Milena, who now lives in Preston, thinks it’s vital that survivors like her are educating others.
She told Sky News: “I think a lot of it [antisemitism] is based on ignorance.
“Whilst we’re still here, we can prove it [the Holocaust] was really true.”
Image: Holocaust survivor Lady Milena Grenfell-Baines aged 94, and as a child. Pic: Lady Grenfell-Baines/Association of Jewish Refugees
CST data shows UK incidents that glorified or called for another Holocaust increased by 130% last year, with the 96-year-old saying this rise was deeply concerning.
“To me, as a refugee, I can’t believe this is England – and one didn’t expect that sort of thing in England,” she said.
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1:18
‘Nowhere is a safe place to be Jewish’
‘They marched through the streets, singing blood-curdling songs’
Another survivor who fled Nazi Germany is Albert Lester.
He was only 11 years old when in 1938 his school was raided by Nazis as part of Kristallnacht– “The Night of Broken Glass” – when Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues in Germany and Austria were attacked, and up to 30,000 Jewish men were taken to concentration camps.
Mr Lester told Sky News: “They marched through the street singing these blood-curdling songs – we were told we shouldn’t wear yarmulkes [Jewish skullcaps] because the children would throw stones at us.”
Image: Albert Lester as a child, and as a 96-year-old. Pic: Association of Jewish Refugees/Albert Lester
Kurt Marx was also living in Germany during Kristallnacht, and recalls the devastation he witnessed that night.
“My uncle’s shop was completely destroyed, and there was smoke coming out of my school because they had set the synagogue inside on fire,” he said.
The 98-year-old added: “There’s an undercurrent of antisemitism everywhere – it’s been there all along.”
Read more: Who is the Holocaust survivor among ICJ judges in South Africa vs Israel case? Minister dismisses world court after it says Israel must take measures to prevent genocide in Gaza
‘Shocking and offensive’
Dr Dave Rich, director of policy at the CST, said the recent rise in Holocaust-related antisemitism has become more regular since the 7 October attacks.
“Where there is antisemitism, it quite often comes with offensive and shocking references to the Holocaust,” he said.
“This is an unprecedented rise, and I think educating about the true horrors of the Holocaust is a really important part to try and reduce it.”
Camila Batmanghelidjh, who founded the high-profile Kids Company charity, and was a well-known campaigner for disadvantaged youngsters, has died aged 61.
Born in Iran, Batmanghelidjh rose to prominence in the UK after setting up Kids Company in south London in the 1990s to provide support for children in poverty.
The charity collapsed in 2015 amid allegations of financial mismanagement and sexual abuse. It had already received a substantial grant for the year and was handed another £3m despite it being deemed not value for money.
Police later investigated the allegations, and found no evidence of wrongdoing.
Despite the charity’s closure, Batmanghelidjh continued to work with vulnerable families and collaborated with other charities including Oasis Community Learning, now one of the largest multi-academy trusts in England.
Batmanghelidjh had many accolades and was named one of the 100 most powerful women in the UK in a list including JK Rowling and Theresa May by BBC Radio 4.
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Captain Sir Tom Moore’s daughter has admitted keeping £800,000 from the three books he wrote before he died – despite the prologue of one of them saying the money would go to the charity in his name.
Hannah Ingram-Moore has also told TalkTV her father had wanted the family to keep the profits from the books in Club Nook Ltd – a firm separate to the Captain Tom Foundation charity.
In extracts of the interview with Piers Morgan published in The Sun, Ms Ingram-Moore is reported to have said: “These were father’s books, and it was honestly such a joy for him to write them, but they were his books.
“He had an agent and they worked on that deal, and his wishes were that that money would sit in Club Nook, and in the end . . . ”
Morgan interjects with: “For you to keep?”
She replies: “Yes… specifically.”
Sir Tom, who died in February 2021, became a national figure after raising £38.9m for the NHS, including gift aid, by walking 100 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday at the height of the country’s first national COVID lockdown in April 2020.
Thousands of buyers of his three books, including the autobiography Tomorrow Will Be A Good Day, were reportedly unaware that the profits were going to the family.
Ms Ingram-Moore was joined by her husband Colin and their children Benji, 19, and Georgia, 14 during the interview – with the family insisting there was no suggestion anyone who bought the books thought the money was going to charity.
However, the prologue of the autobiography reads: “Astonishingly at my age, with the offer to write this memoir I have also been given the chance to raise even more money for the charitable foundation now established in my name.”
Ms Ingram-Moore was also asked by Morgan about when she was paid £18,000 for attending the Virgin Media O2 Captain Tom Foundation Connector Awards in 2021.
This was despite the fact she was already paid as the chief executive of the charity.
The money was paid to her family firm the Maytrix Group, with Ms Ingram-Moore keeping £16,000 and donating £2,000 to the Captain Tom Foundation.
Holding back tears, she told TalkTV: “I think it’s all very easy to look back and think I should have made different decisions, but I hadn’t planned on being the CEO.”
The family also spoke of their “regret” over the spa and pool complex at their £1.2million home.
Ms Ingram-Moore reportedly told planners they wanted an office for the charity set up in Sir Tom’s name but built the complex instead.
Plans for the site said it would be used partly “in connection with The Captain Tom Foundation and its charitable objectives”.
However, a subsequent retrospective application a year ago for a larger building containing a spa pool was refused by the planning authority.
Image: Ms Ingram-Moore’s home where she built the unauthorised spa
The Captain Tom Foundation stopped taking donations when the planning dispute came to light.
Ms Ingram-Moore said: “We have to accept that we made a decision, and it was probably the wrong one.”
In the interview, which airs at 8pm on Thursday night, Morgan also asked Ms Ingram-Moore about the annual salary of £85,000 pro-rata on a rolling three month basis that she received to head the foundation.
She replied: “Yes, and look, absolutely in hindsight, the two things should have been separated, but that’s not how it landed, and it was done with love and with trying to ensure that the community and the Captain Tom Foundation benefited, and yes I got paid.”
The Maytrix Group is also reported to have accepted up to £100,000 in furlough money and £47,500 in COVID loans despite making huge profits in the pandemic.
The body of a firefighter who disappeared more than a month ago as he attempted to swim the English Channel for charity has been found.
Iain Hughes, crew manager at Wednesbury fire station, West Midlands, set off from the Kent coast on the morning of 20 June accompanied by a support boat but went missing later that day in French waters.
The disappearance of the 42-year-old father-of-two triggered an extensive search by French and Belgian authorities which was later called off.
Image: Colleagues have described the 42-year-old’s death as ‘devastating’. Pic: Iain Hughes
West Midlands Fire Service said on Friday the body of a swimmer found in waters off Belgium has been formally identified as Mr Hughes.
In a statement released through the fire service, Mr Hughes’ family said they “miss him more than words can ever say”.
They said: “Our lives were shattered when Iain went missing. He was our world. The news that his body had been found was unbearable. It still is. We miss him more than words can ever say.
“We are proud of Iain for so many reasons.
“He put his heart and soul into training for the swim, but that was Iain – determined to help and support others.”
Mr Hughes had been attempting to raise £21,000 – £1,000 for every mile of his swim – for the British Heart Foundation, The Fire Fighters Charity and the Midlands Air Ambulance.
To date his fundraiser had far exceeded this target by raising more than £56,000.
Image: Mr Hughes was ‘determined to help and support others’. Pic: Iain Hughes
‘Heartbreaking’
Mr Hughes’ family added: “It is lovely to see how much money has been raised for his three charities, but also heartbreaking that he will never know the total.
“Thank you to everyone who has donated and who is still raising money.
“We also want to send our thanks and love to everyone who has been there for us these past few weeks.
“The photo we are releasing sums up the Iain we loved.”
Flags to fly at half-mast
West Midlands Fire Service chief fire officer Wayne Brown said it is “devastating news” and that “Iain’s family are foremost in our thoughts at this distressing time”.
He added: “I know that many people have been affected by Iain’s disappearance.
“We, in turn, have been touched by the hundreds of kind messages we have received, and the overwhelming response to Iain’s fundraising page. Thank you.”
West Midlands Fire Service said flags at its sites will fly at half-mast until sunset on Friday as a mark of respect to Mr Hughes.
He joined West Midlands Fire Service in 1999, at the age of 19.
Kidney disease could become a public health emergency without more government funding, a charity has warned.
The illness already costs the UK economy £7bn a year, according to a new report by Kidney Research UK, and that could rise to £13.9bn in the next decade if no action is taken.
That covers the direct cost of treatment to the NHS, as well as money lost by those left unable to work.
The main factor which could drive up costs is an increase in demand for dialysis – a crucial treatment for patients who suffer kidney failure.
More than seven million people live with chronic kidney disease across the country, the charity estimates.
But that figure could rise, with people with diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and those who are obese most at risk.
The charity wants the government to commit £50m a year into kidney disease research – way up from the £17.7m its report says was provided in 2021-22.
NHS ‘risks being overwhelmed’
Kidney Research UK said the greater funding could be put towards developing better prevention strategies and treatment options, as well as earlier diagnosis.
Chief executive Sandra Currie said without it, the NHS “risks being overwhelmed with demand”.
“There is no cure for kidney disease, a transplant does not last a lifetime and dialysis patients face hours of gruelling treatment every week, taking them away from loved ones and making it harder to work,” she added.
“We know the only hope for stopping the growth of kidney disease and the increasing burden to the health system, the economy and to patients is better prevention strategies, earlier diagnosis and better treatment options, and yet kidney disease isn’t even included in NHS long-term strategic plans.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said the government is “committed” to improving services for patients living with kidney disease.
“We fund research for all aspects of health, including research into kidney disease, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research,” they added.
