A charity that was criticised by the Sunday Times for using Libor funding for “voodoo” therapies has defended its work.

The article, written by journalist Andrew Gilligan, claims that “senior figures in the charity world, the armed forces and the medical profession are calling for an inquiry into the 'scandal' of the £35m Libor fund, set up by the then chancellor George Osborne to support veterans from the proceeds of fines levied on banks for rigging the Libor lending rate”.

It states that £930,000 from the fund was given to the Warrior Programme, which “subjects traumatised veterans to 'time-line therapy' and neurolinguistic programming, techniques described by psychiatrists as pseudoscientific, unproven and even dangerous”.

Charity: Article fails to recognise the evidence 

The charity has defended its work and, in a statement, said: “We are disappointed that some parts of Andrew Gilligan's article fail to recognise the evidence the Warrior Programme has generated and the continual evaluation which we are undertaking.”

The Times article criticised the association of the charity with David Shepherd, its lead trainer, who claims on his website that his techniques can help cure PTSD in as little as three days.

In a statement, the charity said that its programme is delivered through a three-day training programme with 12 months of structured support and signposting. It said it “has never been Warrior's intention to claim to treat PTSD or any other psychological conditions”.

It also said that it “whole heartedly agrees” with Gilligan “that any services offered should be evidence based and routinely evaluated”. It said that all of its programmes have been evaluated, and a randomised controlled trial (RCT) was undertaken University of Southampton and the data analysed and interpreted by King's College London.

Warrior’s Programme recorded the money received from Libor funding in its accounts and outlined how it would be spent.

In a statement, the charity said: “Our Libor grant funded work was meticulously accounted for and the funding team received detailed progress reports. We delivered the project outcomes within budget and were complimented on the success of the project.”

Other Libor funding

The article also outlined Libor funding received by other charities such as £500,000 to Veterans Council. The article states: “About £500,000 from the fund was paid to a small charity called Veterans Council, which then moved its office from a backstreet Wigan community centre to a suite of rooms in a stately home. About £100,000 a year was spent on salaries and £30,000 on furniture.

“A promised “one-stop shop” for veterans, the purpose of the funding, does not exist, the charity is now penniless and all its former trustees have resigned.”

Veterans Council's website is not currently active, and an email to the organisation bounced.

The Times article was written by journalist Andrew Gilligan, who had written a piece the previous week that claimed the executive director of War on Want, John Hilary, was leaving the organisation due to accusations of anti-Semitism. Hilary said that these claims were “entirely fabricated at every single level”.

Civil Society News has contacted the Charity Commission to find out if there are any concerns about the charities mentioned in the Times article.