Probe over refusal of Doctor Who convention donation

Money was raised at the event from sales of autographs, memorabilia and photos with celebrity guests

The Charity Commission has confirmed it is examining a decision by a food bank to turn down donations from a Doctor Who convention.

Bedford Who raised more than £17,000 for charities in the town on Saturday, but on Thursday organisers posted online that Bedford Foodbank would not accept future donations from the event.

A convention spokesperson said the food bank had put it in "an impossible position" but that it wanted supporters to understand why it would no longer support the charity.

Bedford Foodbank said the decision was made after the convention donated vouchers instead of money or food, which it claimed "caused logistical challenges for our food bank".

Bedford Who has run annually for nine years

The charity told the BBC: "In anticipation of this happening again, we reached out to the event co-ordinators to recommend, for future events, alternative organisations within the area who could better benefit from their generosity.

“Bedford Foodbank’s priority is to ensure that we are able to provide emergency support to people who are struggling to get by. The nature of last year’s donation from Bedford Who Charity Con limited our ability to do this.”

However, a spokesperson for the Bedford Who event told the BBC it had been previously agreed with the charity that it would donate food vouchers in 2023.

"We do not accept there is any logistical problem with handing out vouchers and the foodbank thanked us for them," the spokesperson said.

It added that money from the 2024 event was donated in the form of a food donation.

The Charity Commission said: “We are aware of concerns relating to a donation decision by Bedford Foodbank and are currently assessing information to determine if there is a role for the commission.”

The 2024 charity event was attended by eighth Doctor actor Paul McGann and new series star Jemma Redgrave

A convention spokesperson said: "The food bank has put us in an impossible position because we don’t want to damage their reputation.

"On the other hand we also have to release this news because so many people have made such a huge contribution over the years and we owe it to them [to explain] why we are no longer supporting them."

Government guidance states donations can only be rejected when there is a good reason to do so.

Donation decisions must be made by trustees of the charity.

Bedford Who has run annually since 2015.

Money was also raised at the event for homeless charity Smart, and Faces, which supports vulnerable families.