Charity linked to Carrie Johnson under investigation

Troubleshooters have been sent in to investigate a charity linked to Boris Johnson's wife following claims that its funds were used improperly by the multimillionaire socialite who runs it.

- SIMON WALTERS

The Charity Commission has appointed a team of high-powered legal experts to act as interim managers and take over key decision-making at the Aspinall Foundation, run by former casino owner Damian Aspinall.

According to the watchdog’s code of conduct, interim managers are imposed on a charity when it believes there has been “mismanagement and/or misconduct”. It defines misconduct as any “criminal, unlawful or improper” act.

The Aspinall Foundation is a global conservation group that releases zoo animals back into the wild, working with its sister charity the Howletts Wild Animal Trust, which runs two wildlife parks in Kent. Both charities have been under the Charity Commission’s spotlight for five years, with a statutory inquiry launched in 2021.

Its latest decision to send troubleshooters into the Aspinall Foundation over “fresh issues of concern” marks a major tightening of the screw.

Carrie Johnson was recruited by the Aspinall Foundation in January 2021 to a senior communications role on an estimated “high five-figure salary” when her partner Mr Johnson, whom she married in May that year, was prime minister. Mr Johnson has been one of the charity's highest-profile cheerleaders. There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by either of the Johnsons.