Christ Church College, Oxford's trustees' accused of 'misconduct'

Christ Church is one of Oxford's most prestigious colleges

An Oxford college has been warned by regulators after trustees were criticised for their actions in a dispute with a former head.

Their actions "amounted to mismanagement and/or misconduct" and they "failed to manage resources".

Christ Church, Oxford's protracted four-year dispute with its former Dean, Martyn Percy, ended earlier this year after he agreed to step down.

The college said its trustees had worked in its "best interests".

The Charity Commission issued the college with an official warning.

When Mr Percy stood down, he had been in a "long and protracted series of disputes" with the college, according to the Bishop of Oxford.

The commission said the college spent £6.6m on legal and public relations fees between August 2018 and January in "various actions related to the former Dean, over £5.3m of which appears to have been approved retrospectively".

It also said it had asked the college to give information about costs incurred in the dispute in December 2021 but that trustees were "unable to provide information in a timely manner".

Trustees also failed to ensure the college was "accountable" for the legal and public relations fees, the commission said.

In published accounts for years ending 2018-21, the actions taken in the dispute were filed under "other direct costs - teaching, research and residential".

The commission said that description "has the potential to mislead readers of the accounts".

Christ Church is undertaking a full independent governance review

The college is undertaking a full independent governance review and has been told by the commission to keep it informed of its progress.

Helen Earner, director of regulatory services at the Charity Commission, said: "It is not for us as regulator to take sides in disputes. Our role is to ensure that charities are governed effectively and that charitable funds are properly accounted for.

"All trustees must demonstrate sound financial stewardship, regardless of the level of resources available to them."

She added: "We consider that the actions of the trustees at Christ Church amount to mismanagement and/or misconduct, after they failed to manage the charity's resources responsibly or ensure that the charity is accountable in the context of a costly dispute."

In a statement, the college said it and individual trustees "repeatedly asked" the Charity Commission "for help to resolve the disputes" with Prof Percy.

"In very complex and constantly changing circumstances, trustees made decisions which, having taken professional advice, they judged to be in the best interests of Christ Church."

It added: "Christ Church hopes to reform its procedures so as to enable any future disputes of this nature to be resolved fairly and cost-effectively."