The RSPB has been criticised by the English charities watchdog over social media posts in which it accused named government ministers of being “liars” for watering down environmental protections.
The Charity Commission said the tweets a year ago were “inappropriate” in “tone and nature”, they had not been signed off at the correct level and the RSPB could have done more to prevent them going out.
But it said it would take no further action against the charity, having been satisfied that the RSPB had taken sufficient remedial action internally to ensure it would not repeat what the regulator called “party political tweets”.
The posts, published on X, named the former prime minister Rishi Sunak, former environment secretary Thérèse Coffey and the former levelling up secretary Michael Gove, adding: “You said you wouldn’t weaken environmental protections. And yet that’s just what you are doing. You lie, and you lie, and you lie again.”
The commission said on Wednesday: “Charities should not be afraid to use their voice passionately to campaign for causes they represent but they should always be acting in its best interests and must not be party political. It was important we took steps to ensure this did not happen again, particularly ahead of an election.”
Charity Commission guidance states that while charities have the legal right to campaign on political and highly emotive issues, they should not be politically partisan and should act with “respect and tolerance” in online posts.
The guidance on the tone of online campaigning has not been universally welcomed in the voluntary sector, with some critics arguing there is no prohibition in law against charities being impolite, intemperate or holding individuals to account for decisions that damage their cause.
The commission opened a regulatory compliance case into the RSPB last year over the posts, which were published last August. At the time, a Tory MP claimed it had become a “political campaigning organisation” in contravention of charity law and called for it to lose its charitable status.
The RSPB’s chief executive, Beccy Speight, apologised for the post at the time, saying it was wrong to name individual politicians. But she said it reflected anger and frustration within the organisation at the then government’s decision to rip up river pollution rules.
The RSPB subsequently deleted the post and reported itself to the commission. It launched an internal investigation and worked with the regulator to overhaul its policies, including introducing mandatory social media training for all staff. The commission’s case was closed last month.
Kevin Cox, the RSPB’s chair of council, said: “We are pleased the Charity Commission has concluded its case. We’ll continue campaigning for nature, holding those in positions of power to account, bringing species back from the brink of extinction, restoring landscapes and inspiring millions of people to care about nature and play their part in helping restore it.”
The RSPB is one of the UK’s best-known charities with an annual income of £165m. It’s mission is to protect biological diversity and the natural environment by conserving wild birds and other wildlife.
