Kids Company boss warns children 'abandoned' by closure

The founder of Kids Company has said it will have to "abandon a lot of children" as she confirmed its closure.

Camila Batmanghelidjh told BBC Radio 4's The Report "rumour-mongering civil servants", ministers and the media had "put the nail" in the charity.

The charity, which immediately ended its work with 40 schools in London and Bristol, had been given a £3m government grant a week ago.

The government said it was "disappointed" at the outcome.

In a statement, the Cabinet Office said Kids Company had been "unable to move to a sustainable financial position".

It said it was working with local authorities to ensure young people "have access to the services they require".

'Mesmerised'

Ministers are facing questions over the public funding given to the charity.

BBC assistant political editor Norman Smith said warnings had been sounded as far back as the Labour government.

"All those reasons, it seems, were put to one side - and the reason, bluntly, is because it appears Kids Company was a charity which enjoyed the protection of Downing Street, under Gordon Brown and David Cameron."

One source said Mr Cameron was "mesmerised" by Ms Batmanghelidjh and over-ruled concerns raised during funding talks, he added.

Meanwhile, former children's minister Tim Loughton told the BBC he too had raised concerns about the charity when he was in office.

Who is Camila Batmanghelidjh?

• Camila Batmanghelidjh was born into a wealthy family in Iran. She arrived in England aged 12 and started at the private Sherborne Girls school speaking little English

• She gained a first-class degree from Warwick University and then trained as a psychotherapist in London

• She founded Kids Company in 1996 and has been its chief executive for 19 years

• The charity has branches in London, Bristol and Liverpool, aiming to provide practical, emotional and educational support to some of the most deprived and vulnerable inner-city children

• She has won an array of accolades and awards, including a CBE and a series of honorary degrees and fellowships from universities including UCL and the Open University

• She was listed among the UK's most powerful women by BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour in 2013

Camila Batmanghelidjh profile

Kids Company, which supports deprived young people and their families in London, Bristol and Liverpool, is facing accusations of financial mismanagement.

Measures are being put in place to protect people using its services.

One Kids Company worker, Claire Cole, told the BBC she was concerned for both the children and employees that the charity worked with, adding: " Who's supporting us, who's supporting them?

"If any young people need us, please give us a call. As long as our phones are still working every single one of us will answer it. And we're here for you."

Ms Batmanghelidjh said she had "vigorously" pursued the government for funding, because "we'd run out of every company and every charitable trust that we could potentially get money from".

The fact that major banks had backed the charity showed it was not "badly run", she said, adding: "As far as I know I acted responsibly - I asked for help early enough and I feel that government failed to honour its responsibility to these most vulnerable children."

There were protests against the closure of Kids Company in Camberwell, South London

The charity's closure comes after the £3m Cabinet Office grant was made on the condition that Ms Batmanghelidjh, its high-profile chief executive, agreed to step down as part of a reorganisation, as revealed by a joint investigation from BBC Newsnight and BuzzFeed News last month.

It was finally paid when Ms Batmanghelidjh agreed to step down to take up a new advocacy and clinical role.

Newsnight policy editor Chris Cook understands attempts are being made to recover the money because the Cabinet Office believes that the conditions attached to its use were not met.

It has also been revealed the Cabinet Office's lead official raised concerns that the grant, intended for a "transformation and downsizing plan", would be poor value for money, but was told by ministers to press ahead.