Compliance Review at the Charity Commission at the request of MP Mary Foy over concerns of whistleblower abuse.
Lifting the curtain on a stargazing 'charity'
Kielder Observatory receives hundreds of thousands of pounds per year at taxpayer expense... but what are they doing with your money?
A string of luxury cars...
Kielder Observatory acquired a luxury Land Rover Discovery for the highly-paid boss in 2014, a luxury brand new Audi Allroad Quattro for the boss in 2015, and a luxury brand new Audi Quattro for the boss in 2017. Here's the 2015 model in action - complete with private plate!
Extravagant salaries...
£74000 salaries, plus pensions, expenses, cameras, computers, luxury offices, motoring costs, phone for staff with no formal qualifications in astronomy, education, charity governance or business administration. All from a charity turning over little more than £300,000 per year at the time.
Huge golden goodbyes...
£35000 termination payments which gag staff from speaking out on serious issues and allow for the harassment, defamation and intimidation of good faith proven whistleblowers.
Massive payments to Trustees...
£43265 payments to a Treasurer and former Treasurer with a history of shambolic stewardship. A further £2664 and £596 to the same Trustees. And £3127 to the Chairman. As well as £2278 to other Trustees.
Trustee power-grabs...
A total erosion of the astronomical society's membership and election process for the sole benefit of Trustees; who now become a self-electing oligarchy with no transparency or scrutiny.
Insane legal fees...
Legal fees to cover up safeguarding issues costing £32726 (almost 7% of ticket sale income and more than the £29256 contributed by the taxpayer via North Tyne Combined Authority payments).
Bankrolling a leadership with a past...
Management with a concerning financial track record.
...which seems to rollover to the charity itself
Interference in a whistleblowing investigation and release of private information.
Smashing up cars in dangerous conditions...
To avoid giving refunds to guests.
...repeatedly...
... in full knowledge that staff are medically unfit!
But happily lying about this fact to concerned staff and guests.
Cover ups...
Leadership asking staff to create false sales records on their behalf to mislead Charity Commission complaints.
... and more cover ups...
Misleading the public on the annual Charity Commission report that safeguarding had been put in place and no formal actions had been taken against staff.
...despite evidence otherwise
Whilst wrongfully demoting a staff member for having raised formal grievance, via text message, then lying that it is a Trustee mandated management re-shuffle.
Defaming a whistleblower to his employer in a witch hunt...
Making at least four defamatory complaints to a university about a researcher, based on bogus prior allegations made to Police.
Directly and repeatedly involving a Policeman son...
Making five inaccurate reports at a son's Police station about a whistleblower resulting in a bogus Harassment and two arrests of an innocent person (with seizures of electronics, handcuffing and time in a cell), none of which were found to be valid despite considerable investigation over more than nine months.