Monday 16 June 2014

Our Duty to Speak Out for the Poor

I have joined 75 charity and not for profit chief executives or equivalent in signing the following letter to The Times (16 June 2014) highlighting "Our Duty to Speak Out for the Poor":

"We are concerned that the complaint by Conor Burns, MP, to the Charity Commission over an Oxfam tweet highlighting some of the causes of poverty in Britain is an attempt to stifle charities and campaign groups taking part in public debate.

We are already concerned about the new lobbying Act which is likely to significantly restrict our ability to speak out on behalf of the people and issues that we represent for seven months ahead of the general election.

In the past decades campaigning organisations have persuaded governments to cancel poor countries' debts, remove lead from petrol, prevent the selling off of our forests, and allow Gurkha veterans the right of residence in the UK. Attempts to silence legitimate debate risk undermining our democracy"

For details of the signatories from A for Action Aid to Z for Zacchaeus2000:



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