Police are investigating fraud allegations against the anti-hunting charity the League Against Cruel Sports, it has emerged.
Andy Knott, the charity’s former chief executive, has been interviewed by detectives after alleging that their fundraising appeals in the run-up to the general election were misleading.
Mr Knott is taking the charity and MP Dan Norris, the former chair, to an employment tribunal alleging he was forced to quit after he refused to accept a “U-turn” on Labour’s promise to close “all loopholes” in hunting laws if elected.
The former Army officer has now been interviewed by police about his allegations of wrongdoing at the campaign group.
The Daily Telegraph understands that the report was made following contact with the Electoral Commission and Mr Knott was interviewed for three hours by officers from Surrey.
‘One of trust’
Mr Knott has said that the issue is “one of trust” and supporters deserve to know where their money has gone, what the charity has achieved and “what they have sacrificed at the altar of political interference”.
In his employment tribunal claim, seen by The Telegraph, Mr Knott alleges that Mr Norris had asked him to keep quiet over plans by the now Government to waterdown pre-election pledges to “close the loopholes in existing hunting laws”.
He said that he refused “on the basis that this would be abandoning the main objective of the League and fall foul of the ban on charities acting in support of a particular political party”.
Mr Knott alleges that he was left with little option but to quit over his stance whilst others at the top of the charity stayed quiet.
In the manifesto, released after Mr Knott quit the charity in March, Labour promised to ban only trail hunting, a move which he says is a “smokescreen” and will not work.
‘Policy was being influenced’
In his claim, Mr Knott alleges that the charity “policy was being influenced and directed by the Labour Party”.
It is understood that the fraud allegations relate to money raised by the charity to campaign for an end to hunting when they were already aware that Labour was not going to include a full ban in their manifesto.
Mr Knott, who has raised fundraising complaints with his former employers, claims that their communications have been “misleading”.
A spokesman for the Labour Party has previously described the claims as “nonsense” whilst Mr Norris has said he “does not recognise” the version of events.
A spokesman for Surrey Police said: “We received a report relating to allegations of fraud offences on 10 June.
“An investigation into these allegations is underway and enquiries remain ongoing.
“We are unable to comment any further in relation to this matter at this time.”
Detriment for whistleblowing
The former lieutenant-colonel and commanding officer of the 2 Signal Regiment, who has served tours including Afghanistan, is taking both the League and Mr Norris to an employment tribunal for claims including constructive dismissal and that he suffered detriment for whistleblowing.
He is set to launch separate legal action against both parties in the High Court for bullying and harassment and for personal injury.
A spokesman for the League said: “The League has not been contacted by Surrey Police, and so we are unable to comment on an investigation we are not aware of.
“However, as a registered charity, the League is governed by rules that ensure we are apolitical in every aspect of our work, which in practice means we ask every party the same thing – to help us protect animals from persecution through so-called sport.
“We reiterate that the League is aware of certain statements being made by a former member of staff, but we are unable to comment further due to protections that safeguard all current and former employees’ data.”
‘Serious incident report’
It is understood that the League previously informed their regulator of issues surrounding Mr Knott’s departure after six years in the role.
A spokesperson for the Charity Commission said: “We have previously assessed concerns brought to us by the charity in a serious incident report. We determined, based on the information available, that there was no role for the Charity Commission at that time as the charity appeared to be handling the concerns appropriately.”
The commission has not yet examined the allegations brought by Mr Knott, including of political interference, or interviewed the former chief executive, the Telegraph understands. Any police investigation would likely take precedence.