The Charity Commission, the regulator for charities in England and Wales, has escalated its intervention at Barnabas Fund, also known as Barnabas Aid, by appointing Edwina Turner and Catherin Gibbon of Anthony Collins LLP as interim managers to the exclusion of the trustees. According to the Commission, that transfers control of the charity’s administration, assets, records, banking and governance to the appointees while the case remains live. (gov.uk) The practical effect is immediate. Decision-making authority now sits with the interim managers rather than the existing trustee board, placing the charity under direct external management for the duration of the order. (gov.uk)
This step follows a statutory inquiry opened in September 2024. The Charity Commission said the inquiry was launched to examine serious governance and financial concerns, including allegations of unauthorised payments to some current and former trustees and related parties. (gov.uk) That matters because it marks a change in regulatory posture. The Commission describes a statutory inquiry as a formal investigation tool that also allows protective action for a charity’s assets, beneficiaries and reputation, and the appointment of interim managers shows this case has moved further into that territory. (gov.uk)
The order was made on 18 June 2026 under section 76(3)(g) of the Charities Act 2011. In plain terms, that provision allows the Commission to install an independent manager and, in this case, remove the trustees from operational control. (gov.uk) The brief is wide. The interim managers are expected to review historic decision-making and related-party arrangements, protect and recover charity assets where required, restore proper governance arrangements and report their findings back to the regulator. (gov.uk)
The scope matters because it covers both current administration and past conduct. Control of records and banking allows the interim managers to stabilise operations, while the instruction to examine historic decisions points to a broader review of how funds and authority have been handled. (gov.uk) The escalation is clearer when set against the earlier intervention. On 3 October 2024, the Commission announced that it had restricted Barnabas Fund’s transactions over £4,000; by 18 June 2026, it had moved to appoint interim managers to the exclusion of the trustees. (gov.uk)
For donors, partners and beneficiaries, the immediate issue is continuity under new control. The Commission’s announcement is about who runs the charity while the case proceeds, so operational decisions will now be taken by the interim managers on an independent footing. (gov.uk) For trustees elsewhere in the sector, the published actions in this case show that records, banking controls, trustee payments and related-party arrangements can draw the regulator from inquiry into direct intervention. (gov.uk)
The Charity Commission says its inquiry remains ongoing. Until that process concludes, the present order should be read as an interim protective step rather than the end of the case. (gov.uk) Barnabas Aid is therefore a current example of how a Charities Act 2011 inquiry can move from allegations of unauthorised payments and governance concerns to the enforced transfer of day-to-day control away from trustees. (gov.uk)