The departing chairwoman of the UK's charity watchdog says its powers need to be strengthened.
The Charity Commission was recently criticised after its investigation into anti-Semitism at Islamic Relief concluded it was "satisfied" with measures taken by the aid group.
But the charity's independent report said it still had connections to people who were “subject of concern for alleged personal social media posts or associations outside of IR".
Baroness Stowell is due to step down as chair of the Charity Commission after three years in the role.
During an online seminar, hosted by the Social Market Foundation, she said she had "no regrets" from her time in the role but has called on the government to strengthen the powers available to the watchdog.
"At the moment I think that the power we have and the ability we have to remove charities from the register could be strengthened, could be improved," Ms Stowell said.
“I think I would like to see a situation where the way in which the regulations exist do not encourage more bureaucracy but actually make it possible for us to take the right action when something goes wrong.”
She told the seminar that she would like to be have been "more vocal" during her tenure.
Ms Stowell's appointment to the role was unusual in that the digital, media, culture and sport select committee voted against it because of her lack of charity experience.
"There was absolutely no way I was going to back down from that," she said.
"I have never had any regrets at sticking with it and doing the job I have done. I was grateful to have the opportunity."
The Charity Commission has more than 168,000 aid groups on its register and 700,000 trustees.
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Gertrude Bell's life in focus
A feature film
At one point, two feature films were in the works, but only German director Werner Herzog’s project starring Nicole Kidman would be made. While there were high hopes he would do a worthy job of directing the biopic, when Queen of the Desert arrived in 2015 it was a disappointment. Critics panned the film, in which Herzog largely glossed over Bell’s political work in favour of her ill-fated romances.
A documentary
A project that did do justice to Bell arrived the next year: Sabine Krayenbuhl and Zeva Oelbaum’s Letters from Baghdad: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Gertrude Bell. Drawing on more than 1,000 pieces of archival footage, 1,700 documents and 1,600 letters, the filmmakers painstakingly pieced together a compelling narrative that managed to convey both the depth of Bell’s experience and her tortured love life.
Books, letters and archives
Two biographies have been written about Bell, and both are worth reading: Georgina Howell’s 2006 book Queen of the Desert and Janet Wallach’s 1996 effort Desert Queen. Bell published several books documenting her travels and there are also several volumes of her letters, although they are hard to find in print. Original documents are housed at the Gertrude Bell Archive at the University of Newcastle, which has an online catalogue.
Tips for avoiding trouble online
- Do not post incorrect information and beware of fake news
- Do not publish or repost racist or hate speech, yours or anyone else’s
- Do not incite violence and be careful how to phrase what you want to say
- Do not defame anyone. Have a difference of opinion with someone? Don’t attack them on social media
- Do not forget your children and monitor their online activities
