The Home Office and Treasury review and consultation came up with a number of recommendations to combat terrorism, though it admitted the threat of terrorist abuse of charities was rare. These included: individual charities taking responsibility for assessing their risk of terrorist exploitation and taking proportionate steps; more practical guidance to help charities evaluate the risk of abuse; enhanced coordination between government departments, law enforcement agencies and the Charity Commission; and greater awareness and use of existing best practice by charities.

Home Office minister Tony McNulty said that people donating money to charities wanted to be sure that money was not being exploited by terrorists. “Safeguards will be tightened to build on the excellent regulation already provided through the Charity Commission,” he said.

The Commission’s chief executive Andrew Hind said: “The scale of terrorist involvement with charities has been small, but any links between charities and terrorist activity are totally unacceptable.” He said that the Commission was completely committed to partnership with government and the sector in combating terrorism.

The NCVO, while broadly welcoming the consultation paper, feared the potential ramifications of tarring the entire sector with the same brush, for the activities of a very small proportion. Its director of public policy Liz Atkins said: “By placing a veil of suspicion over all charities, the government is in danger of damaging the trusted reputation of the voluntary sector and making people less likely to donate to good causes.

“…Moving forward, government needs to listen to charities and take into account what is already in place, such as the Charity Commission, in order to achieve an effective and proportionate response to the terrorist threat.”

The full consultation document can be found at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/Charities_consultation.pdf