Care4Calais founder Clare Moseley has announced she is leaving the refugee support charity a month after being named as its chair.
Moseley registered the charity in 2016 and was its chief executive until her replacement, Steve Smith, was appointed last month.
The Charity Commission has been investigating the charity’s governance arrangements since 2020. It appointed interim managers from Anthony Collins solicitors who have since been discharged.
Care4Calais described facing “a key person risk in respect of the charity’s founder and CEO” in its financial report for the year to September 2021, its most recently filed accounts with the regulator.
Moseley leaving ‘to focus on campaigning’
Moseley said in a statement: “After seven and a half years, I am leaving Care4Calais.
“When I first arrived in Calais I had no intention of setting up a charity; I could not have imagined one which now supports thousands of people seeking asylum in the UK as well as refugees in northern France.”
She thanked the charity’s volunteers, donors and refugee rights campaigners.
“I am now leaving Care4Calais to focus on campaigning for safe routes for refugees and I will be working alongside our incredible trade union partners to ensure safe passage becomes a reality,” she added.
Meanwhile, “the team at Care4Calais” said in another statement that “few people leave such a legacy” as Moseley.
CEO appointment
Moseley took over from Sue Jex as the charity’s chair on 11 April, moving to the position after Smith’s appointment as CEO.
Smith joined the charity after seven years as CEO of the International Refugee Trust, and leading Action on Armed Violence before that.
On his appointment, Smith said: “I am taking on this mantle from the charity’s founder, Clare. I have big shoes to fill, but I’m up for the challenge. I am looking forward to working with the thousands of Care4Calais volunteers who make a difference to the lives of refugees every day.”
The charity has not yet said who will now chair it.
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