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Nottingham Post
Nottingham Post
National
Joseph Locker

Charity Commission investigation clears Nottingham Castle of wrongdoing

One of two investigations into 'wrongdoing' at Nottingham Castle has concluded.

In November last year a letter, penned by several current and former employees of colour, was sent to the Nottingham Castle Trust board in which they claimed there was an "environment of fear".

It followed an allegation made by Panya Banjoko, a curator at Nottingham Castle and PhD researcher at Nottingham Trent University, who said her granddaughters had been exposed to a hate incident within the castle grounds.

She said the response to the alleged hate incident from the trust - and lack of anti-racism statement - had been "outrageous".

The Castle Trust responded to the letter and said it had tried to "observe proper protocol" and allow the processes to take their course.

It is now understood two investigations were launched.

The first involved the Charity Commission for England and Wales, which monitors charities to ensure members of the public can support organisations with confidence.

This investigation has since concluded.

A spokeswoman for the Charity Commission told Nottinghamshire Live: "We have examined the allegations and did not find evidence of wrongdoing by Nottingham Castle Trust trustees.

"We have issued advice and guidance to the charity trustees, in relation to their governance responsibilities, including how to better manage concerns raised by individuals."

The commission did however say while it has closed its compliance case into Nottingham Castle Trust, it may re-open or re-engage with the charity in the future if made aware of further concerns, and failure to follow the advice issued may be determined as mismanagement or misconduct.

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The second is an independent investigation concerning the castle trust's leadership team.

This is due to conclude soon.

A spokeswoman for the Nottingham Castle Trust added: "The board has thanked the Charity Commission and has accepted its advice and guidance.

“Detail on the improvements that have already been made, as well as changes that are planned, will be announced by the Trust’s leadership team in the coming days.

“We want to again thank the Charity Commission for its advice as we strive to thoroughly address the complaints made by Ms Banjoko as well as improving support and training for our team.”

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