Camila Batmanghelidjh, founder of scandal-hit charity Kids Company, dies aged 61: Activist passed away surrounded by family on New Year’s Day after long illness
Published: 20:09, 2 January 2024 | Updated: 22:44, 2 January 2024
Founder of the scandal-hit Kids Company children's charity Camila Batmanghelidjh has died aged 61.
The former managing director of the charity, which helped disadvantaged young people, died on New Year's Day following a long illness.
The founder of two 'groundbreaking' charities died peacefully in her sleep the night of January 1, following a birthday celebration with her family.
'Camila dedicated her life to advocating for Britain's most vulnerable children,' they said in a statement, with her work setting up Place2Be and Kids Company.
The Iranian-Belgian justice campaigner was forced to step down two decades after the charity was mired with allegations of financial mismanagement, which she was later cleared of.
Later that year, the charity collapsed following unsubstantiated reports of sexual abuse.
Kids Company founder Camila Batmanghelidjh has died aged 61
The creator of the scandal-hit charity died on New Years Day surrounded by family following a health battle over a number of months
David Cameron with the founder of Kids Company, Batmanghelidjh, which folded in August 2015
Born in Tehran, Batmanghelidjh became known for setting up Kids Company in south London[2] in 1996, which helped young people affected by poverty, abuse, trauma and gang violence.
The charity, which had several directors including Alan Yentob, tried to help those who had slipped through the gaps in social and NHS[3] services.
Over the decades, Batmanghelidjh became a well-known figure, being known as the 'Angel of Peckham' during the height of her success.
The social justice campaigner went on to receive a CBE for her services to the charity and young people.
Kids Company supported 36,000 vulnerable children, young people and families in London and Bristol until it was wound up in 2015.
Batmanghelidjh pictured with Alan Yentob - former creative director at the BBC
Batmanghelidjh, founder and director of charity Kids Company, at her London office in 2014
It attracted a number of celebrity backers including Coldplay, artist Damien Hirst and comedian Michael McIntyre.
The charity, however, collapsed in 2015, just weeks after it was handed a GBP3million grant by David Cameron's government.
It had been dogged by allegations of financial mismanagement, including claims cash handed to children was spent on designer clothes, alcohol and drugs.
How charity founded by extravagant 'Angel of Peckham' Camila Batmanghelidjh ran out of cash after series of scandals
Kids Company folded five years ago after being consumed by a number of scandals, mainly about how it spent donations and grants.
The charity was dogged by allegations of financial mismanagement, including claims cash handed to children was spent on designer clothes, alcohol and drugs.
Among the revelations, the charity arranged for one of its clients to have private sex-change surgery.
And sending a drug addict called Dave to Champneys spa to relax with a 'chocolate massage' thrown in to boost his self-esteem. The trip allegedly cost the charity GBP55,000.
Whistleblowers, including employees and young people, also claimed that cash was given to youngsters and spent on designer clothes, holidays, drink and drugs.
Founder Camila Batmanghelidjh was born in Iran, the grand-daughter of a self-made millionaire and said that, during her youth, her father was 'one of the wealthiest' men in the Middle Eastern country.
Suffering from severe dyslexia, she was sent to school in Switzerland before being moved to board at Sherborne Girls, a public school in Dorset.
Her father was locked up during the 1979 Iranian revolution and, when the his money stopped arriving, she started working in nurseries before claiming political asylum.
Ms Batmanghelidjh has said she's wanted to open an orphanage since the age of nine and she started Kids Company as a drop-in centre in Camberwell, south London in 1996.
She revealed in an interview that she once used her mortgage repayments to pay for supervisors to carry out therapy sessions.
Kids Company expanded to open centres in Liverpool and Bristol and was this year said to work with 36,000 children.
The closure of the charity was a huge personal blow for Ms Batmanghelidjh, who was awarded a CBE in 2013 and was once named on the Women's Hour Power List.
The charity was something of a 'cause celebre' over the last decade, with figures including actress Gwyneth Paltrow, socialite Jemima Khan and artists Damien Hirst and Grayson Perry being photographed with Ms Batmanghelidjh, along with numerous ministers and royals such as Prince Charles.
It is alleged its directors were repeatedly warned about the financial crisis facing Kids Company - but failed to correct the 'unsustainable business model' in which it put 'spending ahead of its income'.
The organisation, which helped troubled children in South London, was given huge subsidies over almost 20 years - including GBP7.3 million in the five months before it folded in 2015.
But Ms Batmanghelidjh insists it was a 'victim of its own success'.
AdvertisementAfter it shut down, a number of examples of misspending funds emerged with Batmanghelidjh reportedly paying herself a GBP90,000 salary at the time it went under.
This included the decision to send a drug addict called Dave to Champneys spa to relax with a 'chocolate massage' thrown in to boost his self esteem. The trip allegedly cost the charity GBP55,000.
Whistleblowers included young people and employees who alleged cash was given to youngsters and spent on designer clothes, holidays, drink and drugs.
In 15 years, Kids Company took a reported GBP42million from the taxpayer with the then Prime Minister Cameron said to be 'in the thrall' of Batmanghelidjh.
Throughout the company's life the colourful character had the ear of three prime minister's throughout the organisation's life and a list of wealthy donors.
The charity's closure came shortly after police launched an investigation, which was eventually dropped seven months later, into allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation at the charity, following the broadcast of a BBC Newsnight report.
The sex abuse claims proved unfounded with the judge concluding a ten-week High Court case in 2021 that the charity would have continued to flourish had it not been for the allegations.
The judge also exonerated Ms Batmanghelidjh, of allegations that the charity collapsed because she had failed to operate it on a financially sustainable basis.
Batmanghelidjh, who gave evidence to the court over video link during a remote hearing, said she believed the charity was 'attacked by envy'.
Continuing to defend the company the founded insisted it was a 'victim of its own success'.
Meanwhile Yentob blamed the Met in a statement to the court which said: 'Were it not for the timing of the police allegations, Kids Company would be working today'.
But when the charity collapsed it cast severe doubt son Yentob's ability as its chairman as well as the power he yielded at the BBC at the time.
On five occasions Yentob was accused of trying to put pressure on BBC journalists reporting on the scandal.
He even turned up to the Radio 4 Today programme studio uninvited while Batmanghelidjh was about to be interviewed.
Yentob was later forced to step down as the BBC's creative director in December 2015 after admitting that his involvement in the Kids Company scandal had become a 'serious distraction' to the broadcaster.
Yentob had been accused of compromising the BBC's impartiality on five separate occasions by meddling with its coverage of the failed charity.
In the immediate aftermath of the charity's collapse a number of other allegations were made.
In a ruling in February 2021, Mrs Justice Falk concluded that no disqualification order should be made against either Batmanghelidjh or the trustees - including Yentob.
In 2022, an official report by the Charity Commission found that the Kids Company had operated a 'high risk business model', characterised by a heavy dependence on grants and donations, coupled with low reserves.
Investigators found that some of the charity's records were destroyed at the time of its collapse - but those that survived showed that Kids Company was handing 25 people an average of more than GBP1,700 per month in 2014.
Batmanghelidjh, born in Tehran, was the grand-daughter of a self-made millionaire and said that during her youth her father was 'one of the wealthiest' men in the Middle East.
She spent her school years in Switzerland before being moved to board Sherborne Girls, a private school in Dorset.
The founder's father was locked up during the 1979 Iranian revolution and, when the his money stopped arriving, she started working in nurseries before claiming political asylum.
Batmanghelidjh, who had dyslexia, previously said she had wanted to work in an orphanage since the age of nine.
In 1996 she set-up Kids Company as a drop-in centre in Camberwell, South London, claiming she once used her mortgage repayments to pay for supervisors to carry out therapy sessions.
The centre was then expanded to open in Liverpool and Bristol, eventually working with 36,000 children.
In 2013, Batmanghelidjh was handed a CBE for her work and was once named the Women's Hour Power List.
Over the decades the charity attracted a number of celebrities including actress Gwyneth Paltrow, socialite Jemima Khan and artists Damien Hirst and Grayson Perry being photographed with Batmanghelidjh.
Royals, including King Charles, also paid visits to the charity.
Confirming her death in a statement tonight, Batmanghelidjh's family told the Guardian: 'Camila dedicated her life to advocating for Britain's most vulnerable children.
'She was the founder of two groundbreaking charities, Place2Be and Kids Company, which pioneered new therapeutic and clinical models to achieve a singular goal: ''To see children and young people become safe and able to realise their potential.'
Timeline of the Kids Company scandal
July 2015 - Police launch a probe into allegations of abuse and exploitation at the charity, following the broadcast of a BBC Newsnight report. This was eventually dropped seven months later.
August 2015 - Kids Company collapses despite repeated warnings over its perilous financial state - just days after it was given a GBP3million government grant.
October 2015 - National Audit Office questions why government money was paid to the charity with 'little focus on what it was actually achieving'.
November 2015 - The Public Accounts Committee describes the charity as a failed '13 year experiment' and criticised both the Labour and Conservative governments for continuing to give public money against civil service advice.
December 2015 - BBC Creative Director Alan Yentob - who served as chairman of the charity - steps down after being accused of trying to put pressure on BBC journalists reporting on the scandal.
2016 - MPs on the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) call on the BBC to reopen its investigation into Mr Yentob, over claims he 'deliberately intimidated' corporation staff.
2017 - Camila Batmanghelidjh publishes her biography. In interviews before its release, she defends sending drug addict called Dave to Champneys spa to relax with a 'chocolate massage' thrown in to boost his self-esteem.
The trip allegedly cost GBP55,000.
October 2020 - The Insolvency Service begins its legal bid to disqualify Camila Batmanghelidjh and nine former directors from the charity, including Mr Yentob, from serving as company directors.
February 2, 2021 - A judge throws out the bid.