The trustee board of the Samaritans is currently in discussions about the appointment of Alzheimer's Society chief, Jeremy Hughes, as its new CEO.

The discussions come after The Guardian reported allegations of the charity spending as much as £750,000 on payouts to staff following complaints of bullying and a 'toxic' workplace culture.

Complaints centred around leadership in particularly, with one whistleblower alleging Hughes had an 'explosive temper' and showed bullying behaviour towards staff.

The Samaritans has not responded to Charity Times' request for comment, but in a response to a query on Twitter, it said it was taking the allegations 'very seriously'.

The suicide-prevention charity said: "The welfare of our staff and volunteers is of the utmost importance and our Board of Trustees is taking these allegations very seriously."

Thanks for your comment. The welfare of our staff and volunteers is of the utmost importance and our Board of Trustees is taking these allegations very seriously.

— Samaritans (@samaritans) February 25, 2020

Hughes announced he would be stepping down from the Alzheimer's Society in September 2019 after 10 years in the role.

His resignation came shortly after a Twitter page was created by Alzheimer's Society employees to share 'significant concerns about the charity's leadership', although the charity has stressed there is no connection between the two.

The charity announced CLIC Sargent chief executive, Kate Lee, will be taking on the post in April this year.

The Charity Commission is currently looking into complaints made about Alzheimer's Society after it failed to follow up on at the time.

Alzheimer's Society has stressed it has a 'zero tolerance of bullying' and takes the allegations 'very seriously'.

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