The National Trust has issued a response to a Telegraph opinion piece article titled ‘Rejoin the National Trust to save it from wokery’, which the charity argues included “misleading claims”.
Written by director of pressure group the Restore Trust, Zewditu Gebreyohanes, the article tries to persuade others who wish to “return the charity to its charitable objectives” to become members of the charity ahead of its upcoming annual general meeting.
‘Increasingly commercialised’
Gebreyohanes’ article argues the National Trust has become “increasingly commercialised and bureaucratised” which has “created a gulf between the management and everyone below”.
The Restore Trust’s piece also disagreed with the National Trust's decision to delay the restoration of Clandon Park House in Surrey despite receiving a £63m insurance payout. This would have the “trust’s founders turn[ing] in their graves”, Gebreyohanes wrote.
In its letter to the editor, Jan Lasik, general counsel and secretary of the charity, said it tracks staff and volunteer engagement through an independent survey provider, and has above-average scores in the sector, so does not believe there is a “gulf” between National Trust management and its members.
Lasik said the charity would spend all the insurance settlement funding “and more” on regenerating Clandon Park House and appeared to criticise Restore Trust without naming the organisation.
“We look forward to the broadest cross-section of members making their voices heard at our annual general meeting, whether they are supporters of funded political campaign groups that have not published their accounts, or otherwise,” he wrote.
A spokesperson from the National Trust added in a statement: “Restore Trust is a private company that aims to influence the National Trust's council and decision-making. The council is elected by our members and by other charities who have a stake in the National Trust's decisions.
“The National Trust works well with a range of supporter groups and critics and has done so for decades. However, these groups have always been voluntary without any influence from the private sector. We have no record of paid-for campaigns to influence the charity's decisions or get individuals onto our governing bodies in the past. This is not usual for the UK voluntary sector.”
‘No obligation to publish accounts’
On Companies House, it shows that Restore Trust has not filed its annual accounts.
In response to Lasik’s letter, Gebreyohanes said in a statement that the Restore Trust is not a political group and is “completely non-partisan”.
“The sole mission of our campaign is to return the National Trust to its charitable objects,” she said.
“There is no obligation, moral or legal, to publish the accounts of a non-charitable not-for-profit organisation. But we receive donations from thousands of people across the country who are long-standing supporters of the National Trust and are saddened by the course down which the charity is now heading, away from its founding aims and ethos.”
Editor's note – 25 August
This article has been corrected to reflect that the National Trust wrote a response to the Telegraph article rather than complained to the newspaper
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