London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 01, 2025

Charity that employs Carrie Johnson faces further questions over finances

Charity that employs Carrie Johnson faces further questions over finances

Accounts for Aspinall Foundation show it paid more than £150,000 in ‘interior design services’ to chairman’s wife
The wildlife charity that employs Carrie Johnson is facing further questions over its finances, after its latest accounts show it paid more than £150,000 in “interior design services” to the chairman’s wife last year.

The Aspinall Foundation, which is currently under investigation by the Charity Commission, took in just over £1,500,000 in donations from the public and corporate donors – while in the same year they paid £150,158 in fees to Victoria Aspinall, the wife of Damian Aspinall, the chairman of the charity’s trustees.

The transaction happened in 2020, which is before Carrie Johnson, the prime minister’s wife, took on a senior role at the charity heading up communications from January 2021.

The purpose of the Aspinall Foundation is global conservation work and releasing zoo animals back into the wild, working with its sister charity, the Howletts Wild Animal Trust, which runs two wild animal parks in Kent.

Damian Aspinall, the casino owner and socialite, is the son of the charity’s founder and its board of trustees includes Ben Goldsmith, the brother of government minister Zac Goldsmith, who is a friend of Carrie Johnson and the prime minister.

It solicits donations directly from the public, employing a team of fundraisers for the purpose, as well as running a fundraising lottery and asking for animals to be sponsored.

The chairman’s wife, Victoria Aspinall, had previously been paid £12,500 for interior design services in 2019, but her fees went up by more than tenfold in 2020 to a sum equivalent to 10% of donations taken that year. The charity also has large reserves in cash, property and fine art.

In its accounts, the Aspinall Foundation said the transaction was “at arms length” and added that the fees charged by Victoria Aspinall were “subject to a rigorous benchmarking exercise to ensure the foundation received value for money”.

The charity also paid £124,231 for accountancy work undertaken by Alvarium, a company of which another trustee, Charles Filmer, was a director.

In 2020 the foundation’s trustees, Damian Aspinall, Filmer, Robin Birley and Ben Goldsmith, secured a coronavirus business interruption loan of £2m, interest free for the first year. This was passed on in the form of a loan to the Howletts Wild Animal Trust.

The Aspinall Foundation’s previous set of accounts for 2019 showed the 30-room Howletts mansion in Kent owned by the charity was rented to Damian Aspinall for £2,500 a month. In 2020, he paid just over £10,000 a month for rent of the same mansion, after the rent was calculated based on an independent professional valuation.

The Aspinall Foundation was put under investigation by the Charity Commission over potential financial mismanagement in March this year. The matters being investigated by the commission pre-date Symonds’ appointment as an employee at the foundation, and there is no suggestion she is subject to its investigation.

At the time, the commission stressed that the opening of an inquiry is not a finding of wrongdoing. However, a statutory inquiry is its most serious form of investigation, undertaken only where it is seriously concerned that a charity is at risk of wrongdoing and abuse.

Where the commission concludes serious wrongdoing has taken place it has powers to remove trustees from the board, take over the running of the charity, or even wind it up.

A separate statutory inquiry was also announced into the management of Howlett’s Wild Animal Trust, which is also chaired by Aspinall, and whose trustees include Aspinall’s daughter Tansy.

The Aspinall Foundation did not respond to a request for comment. At the time of the Charities Commission investigation, a spokesperson for the foundation said: “The Aspinall Foundation remains firmly committed to its ethical and legal duties as a charitable body. Our trustees will continue to work openly and transparently with the Charity Commission to ensure best practice governance and compliance.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
J.K. Rowling Limits Public Engagements Citing Safety Fears
JD.com Launches €2.2 Billion Bid for German Electronics Retailer Ceconomy
Azerbaijan Proceeds with Plan to Legalise Casinos on Artificial Islands
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
×