A former chief executive of the League Against Cruel Sports (LACS) has filed an employment tribunal claim against the charity.
Andy Knott is claiming he was unfairly dismissed and that LACS has not paid him for his three-month notice period and did not send over his P45 for 10 weeks.
He was formerly a potential parliamentary candidate of the Conservative Party and is a retired army officer, tribunal documents state.
Knott is also alleging that the Labour Party was “interfering in the strategy and operations of the charity” including through its former chairman Dan Norris, metro mayor for West England and current Labour candidate for North East Somerset and Hanham.
LACS said while it is “aware” of statements being made by a former member of staff, it is unable to comment further as it must safeguard current and former employees data.
The charity said its “unequivocable focus” is lobbying the government to properly ban hunting.
Norris and the Labour Party did not respond to request for comment.
‘Political interference’
Knott said that Labour had promised to “close the loopholes in the existing fox hunting laws” and alleged that Norris asked him if he would stay “silent” if the party dropped the commitment.
The Labour Party manifesto only includes a ban on trail hunting but Knott's legal document alleges that Norris told him that Labour would implement a full ban on hunting if elected, but was not including it in the manifesto as it “would be seen as part of a class war and viewed unfavourably by rural voters”.
Knott said he refused not to criticise the decision, feeling “this would be abandoning the main objective of the League and fall foul of the ban on charities acting in support of a particular political party”, according to the tribunal document.
The former CEO complained to the board and senior management with protected disclosures about this repeatedly, but they did not investigate, the document alleges.
He told Civil Society that after he refused this he faced “a lot of restrictions” on his job role such as not being able to speak to third parties, auditors, donors, or CEOs of the coalition he created, Time for Change.
The tribunal document also alleges constructive unfair dismissal, which occurs when an employee’s job description is changed in the aim of forcing a resignation.
It also alleges breach of contract by failing to make the agreed payment in lieu of notice, unpaid holiday pay, and detriment and dismissal for the making of a protected disclosure.
Knott resigned from the charity in March and said he was asked to sign a “gagging order” by the charity, which he did not do.
According to the tribunal document, he resigned on 22 March after being told that he could leave on full pay for three months, but has not received this remuneration.
Companies House records state that Knott resigned as the secretary of the LACS company on 22 March. It also shows that two directors resigned from the charitable company in April 2024.
Knott told Civil Society: “Donors give their money to charities to help achieve its charitable objects, not to help any particularly political party or politician gain power that their expense.
“Boards have a legal duty to safeguard their staff when in their employment.”
Norris has stepped back as chair of LACS and is currently running as a Labour candidate for North East Somerset and Hanham against Jacob Rees-Mogg.
LACS: ‘We are unable to comment’
A spokesperson for the League Against Cruel Sports said: “The League is aware of certain statements being made by a former member of staff, but we are unable to comment further due to protections that safeguard all current and former employees’ data.
“The League’s unequivocable focus is on lobbying the next government to properly ban hunting by eradicating loopholes in the current law, banning trail hunting, and introducing custodial sentences for those caught illegally hunting.
“We are working hard together with our dedicated supporters and numerous coalition partners to see this change made as soon as possible after the election.”
A Charity Commission spokesperson told Civil Society: “We have previously assessed the concerns raised and determined that there was no role for the Charity Commission at that time.”
