The Charity Tribunal has upheld the regulator's decision to ban the former director of a charity wound up by the High Court from being a trustee.
In 2019, the Charity Commission petitioned the High Court for an order to wind up Thrift Urban Housing Limited. This is the first time the regulator has done so under the Charities Act 2011.
This came after the Commission launched a statutory inquiry into the housing charity in 2014 after uncovering “serious concerns.”
In a recently published Charity Tribunal judgement, the charity's former director Preston Lennox lost an appeal against the Charity Commission’s decision to ban him from serving as a board member or employee for 15 years.
Lennox has been added to the register of removed trustees and is disqualified from acting formally within a charity until 2037.
When the court case took place in May this year, Lennox did not attend to prosecute his appeal. In an email, Lennox told the court that the hearing of his appeal could not take place without him present. This was not the case.
Sky News previously reported that Lennox had spent around £350,000 of charitable funds over nine years on a credit card, medical expenses, his mortgage, a Range Rover and other personal costs.
Civil Society News contacted Lennox's accountants for comment but did not receive a response.
No possibility of success
The Commission felt that “while there may be complex legal arguments arising in this appeal, the facts could not be in dispute despite the apparent position of the appellant [Lennox] to the contrary.”
The charity tribunal agreed and struck out the appeal for having “no reasonable prospects of success.”
Investigation into the charity are ongoing
A spokesperson from the Charity Commission said: “Preston Lennox has been disqualified as a trustee and from holding a senior management position in a charity for 15 years. Our inquiry into Thrift Housing Ltd. remains ongoing.”
They explained that the Commission cannot comment further while the inquiry is underway.
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