Action demanded as John Muir Trust nears 'point of no return'
More than 100 members and former staff have signed an open letter
Scotland’s charity regulator has been urged to intervene at a major conservation charity before “irreversible damage” is done.
More than 100 members, former staff and trustees of the John Muir Trust (JMT) have signed an open letter to the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) calling for immediate action.
It comes amid an ongoing crisis at the charity, which has been hit by claims of poor leadership and governance failures and which is currently being investigated by OSCR.
The open letter calls on the regulator to “intervene without further delay”.
It says: “We appreciate that OSCR must be careful before exercising its statutory powers; however, we respectfully suggest that the evidence has now reached a point where the regulator’s continued restraint risks becoming part of the problem.”
The JMT owns and manages some 25,400 hectares in Scotland, including part of Ben Nevis and Schiehallion.
Last month, its head of policy publicly resigned and warned it is being “led over a cliff-edge”. Thomas Widrow called on the charity’s supporters to act now to save it from a “disastrous lack of leadership”.
It came after Professor Denis Mollison, one of two surviving original members of the JMT, was expelled from its board.
The open letter to OSCR says 15 trustees have resigned during the tenure of the current chair, Jane Smallman, while “scores of staff including 13 members of the leadership team and four chief financial officers have left”.
Alan McCombes, the JMT’s former media and public affairs manager, told The Scotsman many people are now worried the charity is approaching “the point of no return”, adding: “The damage has just been so corrosive over such a long period of time.”
In a lengthy statement responding to the letter, a spokeswoman for the JMT said: “We recognise that in recent years the trust has faced periods of negative media attention and sustained external challenge, often driven by economic and other human interests.
“Acknowledging these challenges openly is important. They have tested our resilience, sharpened our focus, and strengthened our determination to ensure that wild places receive the protection and advocacy they deserve.
“Rather than allowing these pressures to define us, we are using them as an opportunity to reaffirm our purpose and communicate our successes with renewed confidence.
“We are building on the foundations of four decades of the trust’s work to protect and restore the UK’s wild places, and ensure that our charitable resources are used effectively, transparently and in direct support of this strategic purpose.
“Across the trust, progress and the impact of our work is becoming increasingly visible.”
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The spokeswoman set out a number of goals the charity is pursuing, including measures to enhance transparency, and added: “As we enter the next chapter of the trust’s story, our intent is clear: to build on the achievements of the last 40 years, champion the recovery of wild places and ensure that these remarkable landscapes are protected, restored and given a powerful voice in a rapidly changing world.”
An OSCR spokesperson said: “OSCR has received an open letter from members, former staff and former trustees at the John Muir Trust, setting out concerns.
“As we have previously confirmed, OSCR has an ongoing inquiry into the charity, and, in line with our published inquiry policy, we are unable to comment any further at this time.”
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