https://www.gov.uk/government/news/watchdog-reports-on-investigation-into-watch-tower-bible-and-tract-society-of-britain
Press release
Watchdog reports on investigation into
Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Britain
The Charity Commission has today published a
report of its inquiry into Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Britain.
From:
The Charity Commission
Published
4 August 2023
The inquiry opened in May 2014 to investigate
the charity’s handling and oversight of safeguarding matters, including child
protection advice provided to individual Jehovah’s Witness (JW) congregations.
This followed significant interaction between
the Commission and the charity since October 2007, concerning the way in which
safeguarding incidents or failures were handled within JW organisations and,
specifically, the adequacy of the guidance that the charity provided to various
JW congregations. JW organisations reported to the Independent Inquiry into
Child Sexual Abuse (‘IICSA’) that a total of 67 allegations of child abuse were
made between 2009 and 2019 against 67 individuals involved in JW congregations,
whether as Elders, ministerial servants or otherwise.
During the course of the Commission’s
interaction with the charity from 2007 onwards, including during the period of
the inquiry, JW congregations have revised and updated their safeguarding
policies on several occasions, and the Commission remains engaged with JW
congregations on safeguarding matters through its ongoing interaction with the
Kingdom Hall Trust (see below).
One key issue which emerged during the inquiry
was the extent to which the charity itself remained responsible for ensuring
children and vulnerable people are safe from harm within JW congregations.
Notwithstanding the charity having had an
historic role in interacting with the Commission over JW safeguarding, the
Commission’s report concludes that Watch Tower is no longer the body
responsible for safeguarding within JW congregations, and therefore the inquiry
can be closed. It is the Commission’s view that following the merger of Kingdom
Hall congregation charities with the Kingdom Hall Trust in March 2022 (‘KHT’)
that KHT is now the body responsible for safeguarding congregation members. The
Commission has opened a compliance case to work with KHT’s trustees to ensure
that the safeguarding policies, guidance, and procedures of KHT provide a
safe environment for beneficiaries within all JW congregations.
The Commission’s report is critical of the
charity’s trustees’ conduct during the inquiry, expressing the view that on
occasions the trustees were “not as straightforward or transparent as they should
have been” in relation to JW child safeguarding responsibilities, and that
during certain phases of the investigation, “the trustees’ communications were
protracted, with the charity’s responses often failing to provide the
information requested or sufficient clarity to satisfy the inquiry, giving rise
to further questions.”
The inquiry noted that there was insufficient
evidence to conclude that these behaviours were deliberate attempts to obstruct
the inquiry.
The report also details that legal challenges
brought by the charity, which sought to challenge some of the regulator’s
decisions and orders, which partly explain the significant delays to the
inquiry.
Helen Stephenson,
chief executive of the Charity Commission said:
We are clear that a charity must be a safe,
trusted environment and that protecting people and safeguarding should be a
governance priority for all charities, regardless of size, type or income. I am
pleased that this long-running inquiry, which demonstrates the Commission’s
resolve and determination to ensure that safeguarding policy issues are
addressed comprehensively by charities, has now concluded.
Our continuing regulatory compliance case
involving the Kingdom Hall Trust aims to ensure that the KHT’s safeguarding
policies and procedures protect congregation members and those that come
into contact with KHT.
The full inquiry report is available on
GOV.UK.
Timeline of
significant developments prior to, and during inquiry
2007
·
Commission opens
statutory inquiry into the London Mill Hill Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses
after an Elder was convicted for historic sexual offences. The Commission’s
inquiry into the London Mill Hill Congregation finds that it did not have a
child protection policy.
·
One of the outcomes
from the Commission’s inquiry into the London Mill Hill Congregation is that
the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Britain agrees to develop a child
protection policy which would be disseminated to all JW congregations.
2010
·
In May 2010, the
Commission seeks advice on the draft policy from the National Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Children (‘NSPCC’).
·
A summary of the
NSPCC’s findings is supplied to the charity. The charity also seeks its own
advice from a safeguarding consultancy.
·
In finalising the
policy, the charity chooses not to adopt all of the NSPCC’s recommendations.
2011
·
Watch Tower
distributes child protection policy which all Elders of JW congregations are
expected to adhere to.
2013
·
Following the
conviction of a former ministerial servant of a JW congregation charity,
Charity Commission writes to Watch Tower to raise concerns about the policy and
its implementation.
·
Commission seeks
advice from NSPCC, which finds the policy to be at odds with UK legislation and
guidance.
·
The charity updates
and recirculates the policy.
2014
·
March: Commission
meets with the charity, to raise its concerns about the revised policy, which
does not address concerns raised by NSPCC. The trustees do not clearly set out
that Watch Tower is no longer responsible for drafting and disseminating the
policy, nor do they state which organisation is now responsible for this.
·
May: Charity
Commission opens statutory inquiry.
·
August: Watch Tower
challenges decision to open inquiry and legal orders requiring the charity to
submit information to the Commission, beginning a period of several years
during which the work of the inquiry is constrained.
2016
·
December: Supreme
Court refuses the Watch Tower permission to appeal a decision of the Court of
Appeal dismissing the appeal against the Commission’s investigation.
2019
·
September: Charity
Commission informs Watch Tower that it had commissioned the Ineqe Safeguarding
Group to undertake independent review of JW’s child safeguarding policies and
procedures.
·
December: Ineqe’s
report is provided to Watch Tower, ahead of planned meeting to discuss the
findings. The charity cancels the meeting asking to provide a formal response
to the independent report.
2020
·
January: Charity provides
inquiry with written opinion from its safeguarding expert, which states that
the Ineqe report was out of date. Watch Tower demands the inquiry is
terminated, claiming the grounds for the inquiry no longer exist.
·
June: After careful
consideration, the Commission refuses the request to close the inquiry.
·
July: Charity
instigates Judicial Review procedures against the Commission’s refusal to
conclude the inquiry and in respect of disclosure.
2021
·
Trustees’ cooperation
with inquiry improves following permission from the High Court for Watch Tower
to bring Judicial Review procedures against the Commission.
2023
·
Commission concludes
that Watch Tower is not the organisation that is currently directly responsible
for the safety of JW beneficiaries.
Ends
Notes to editors
1.
The Charity Commission
is the independent, non-ministerial government department that registers and
regulates charities in England and Wales. Its purpose is to ensure charity can
thrive and inspire trust so that people can improve lives and strengthen
society.
2.
In September 2021, the
Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation reported on its
investigation into Child Protection in Religious Organisations and Settings.
The report refers to the Commission’s statutory inquiry into Watch Tower, and
cites from oral evidence given by Commission staff about the challenges faced
by the regulator in its investigation. That report is publicly available.
3.
The full inquiry report is available on
GOV.UK.
