Charities linked to terrorism at record high: extremists pose deadly threat by abusing fundraising groups, warns commission chief

Reports of alleged links between charities and terrorism or extremism have surged to a record high, the charity watchdog has warned.

The number of times the Charity Commission has shared concerns about links between charities and extremism with police and other agencies has nearly trebled from 234 to 630 in just three years.

The Commission also opened eight compliance cases and four formal inquiries into “allegations of abuse of charities for terrorist or extremist purposes” in 2015/16. 

In an interview with the Telegraph, William Shawcross, the Commission’s chairman, warned that extremism was “the most potentially dangerous and deadly” problem faced by charities.

He said: “It is the most dangerous because of the threat of Islamist extremism. It is not the most constant threat – it is the most potentially deadly threat.”

The 630 disclosures, which Commission sources said was a record figure, concerned “allegations made and concerns about abuse of charities for terrorist or extremist purposes, including concerns about charities operating in Syria and other higher risk areas, in which terrorist groups operate”...