Charity apologises amid political barrel 'oversight'

The Weston Lions charity allowed political parties to sponsor a barrel at its ale and cider festival

A real ale festival is being investigated by a charity watchdog after several political parties were allowed to sponsor a barrel.

At the July event, barrels of alcohol were sponsored by Reform, the Liberal Democrats, and the Conservative Party, with proceeds going to the festival's organisers, the Weston-super-Mare Lions charity.

As first reported by Weston Independent News, regulators at the Charity Commission are now looking into the incident as a potential breach of guidelines.

The charity, which raises money for community services, has apologised for the "oversight" and said "maintaining political impartiality is crucial".

The Real Ale and Cider Festival organised by the charity took place in Weston between 25-27 July.

Charity president Paul Middleton said taking sponsorship from the political parties was "very naïve" and promised it would not happen again.

"The Weston-super-Mare Lions would like to apologise unreservedly for any offence taken with the barrel (not event) sponsorship from the Reform, Liberal Democrats and Conservative parties," he said.

"It was never our intention to align with or promote any political agenda.

"The sponsorship was accepted without fully considering the broader implications. we now recognise that maintaining political impartiality is crucial.

"We take full responsibility for this oversight and the impact it may have had."

The charity has since refunded all money taken from the political sponsorships.

"Thank you to those who voiced their concerns, your feedback is important, and we remain committed to learning from this and doing better," Mr Middleton added.