Children In Need's top boss Rosie Millard has quit her role in protest after the organisation awarded a grant of £466,000 to a charity whose former boss had been jailed for child sex crimes.
She accused the organisation of "institutional failure" as she handed her resignation in. Rosie, a broadcaster, raised her objections after it emerged that the huge sum was earmarked to be given to LGBT Youth Scotland (LGBTYS). The former chief of the organisation, James Rennie, was convicted of child sex assaults in 2009. The grants from BBC's Children In Need started seven months later, when a new management team had started working for LGBTYS.
Rennie served as chief executive of LGBTYS between 2008 and 2009 and was jailed after it emerged he was a member of a paedophile organisation. He had previously served as an SNP advisor. Rennie was given a life sentence after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a three month old child, as well as conspiring to gain access to children to abuse them. He was given a minimum sentence of 13 years – this was later reduced to eight.
The grants to LGBTYS were suspended in May 2024 after Rosie alerted those at Children In Need about the case surrounding Rennie. The BBC organisation subsequently withdrew funding three months after following a review.
She accused chief executive of Children In Need, Simon Antrobus of failing to respond "with the necessary level of seriousness" and delaying action, in a letter seen by The Times. She alleged that he only took away the funding entirely due to concerns over negative publicity. Antrobus, who has been chief exec of Children In Need since 2016 has not yet commented on the allegations.
In a statement, Rosie said: "It has been an honour and a privilege to serve as Chair of BBC Children in Need. Witnessing the incredible impact of our supporters' generosity on the lives of children and young people has been truly inspiring. I'm immensely proud of the collective achievements we’ve made together."
BBC director-general Tim Davie praised her for having made a "significant impact on countless children," following her resignation. Chief executive of the LGBT charity, Mhairi Crawford, claimed that Rosie's resignation was an 'attack' on her organisation.
Mhairi said: "We are pleased to see confirmation that Children in Need’s investigations into the work of LGBT Youth Scotland found nothing to report. Time and time again, those with anti-inclusivity motives point to historic allegations in attempts to destroy our reputation. Allegations that have been investigated and cleared by Police Scotland, and proven to have had no link to our work.”
A spokesperson for Children in Need said: "Nothing is more important to us than the safety of all children and young people. When allegations were made in relation to LGBT Youth Scotland their grant was immediately suspended with the full support of the board and a review began. In order to do this thoroughly and fairly the review took three months and culminated in the decision to withdraw funding."
The spokesperson added: "The Children in Need board of trustees are supportive of the actions taken by the CEO and senior leadership team and stand by the decisions made. Rosie at all times retained the board’s support. In the wake of her resignation, in order to ensure any lessons learnt are captured, the trustees have instigated a review of ways of working between the board and executive in which Rosie has kindly agreed to participate.”
Meanwhile, Mhairi Crawford, LGBTYS' chief executive said that Rosie's resignation in protest "demonstrates the ideologically driven nature of her attacks on our organisation. She said: "We are pleased to see confirmation that Children in Need’s investigations into the work of LGBT Youth Scotland found nothing to report.
"Time and time again, those with anti-inclusivity motives point to historic allegations in attempts to destroy our reputation. Allegations that have been investigated and cleared by Police Scotland, and proven to have had no link to our work." She added that it was "really sad" to have the Children In Need funding cut after "the best part of 15 years."
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