London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

‘More air miles than Alan Whicker’: ex-church official in £5m fraud trial

‘More air miles than Alan Whicker’: ex-church official in £5m fraud trial

Martin Sargeant, former operations manager at the diocese of London, is accused of fraud and money laundering
A former Church of England official charged with defrauding a charity of more than £5m has been accused of clocking up more flights than Alan Whicker, the late globetrotting broadcaster.

Martin Sargeant, 52, who was operations manager for the diocese of London from 2008 until August 2019, when he retired, and clerk of the City church grants committee, is accused of defrauding the charitable trust of about £5.2m over 10 years.

He is also charged with money laundering after he allegedly spent the money intended for the trust, set up in 1891 to fund the restoration of churches, on gambling and more than 180 British Airways flights.

His alleged jet-setting prompted a comparison to Whicker, who presented Whicker’s World, which ran from 1958 to 1994, first on BBC and later on ITV.

Whicker, who won two Baftas and was given a CBE for his services to broadcasting before his death in 2013, reported on stories around the world, including interviewing the Haitian dictator François Duvalier and the American billionaire John Paul Getty.

Malachy Pakenham, prosecuting, described Sargeant’s alleged activities as “quite an achievement”, telling Westminster magistrates court: “I should imagine even Alan Whicker in his day wouldn’t have clocked up as many flights as this defendant did over this period.”

Sargeant appeared in the dock on Friday, where he spoke to confirm his name, date of birth and address in Dudley, West Midlands. He did not give any indication of his plea when charges of fraud by abuse of position and money laundering were put to him.

The charge of fraud alleges Sargeant abused his position as operations manager to gain the sum between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2019.

He is accused of fraudulently requesting funding grants for dysfunctional churches to steal the money by transferring it through church bank accounts that he controlled through work.

It is alleged the money was subsequently put into accounts under his name that he controlled and then spent. Pakenham said he used the money on “personal entertainment or frivolous things like gambling”.

It was decided the charges were too serious to be handled in a magistrates court and that it would be sent to Southwark crown court where Sargeant is due to appear on 2 September.

He was granted bail on condition that he does not leave the UK, lives at his address and refrains from contacting any diocese of London employees.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×