Kids Company staff and service users have been protesting outside Downing Street today after the charity announced it was closing its doors. But the Prime Minister isn’t there: he’s on holiday. He did, however, give this clip to broadcasters in which he defended his ministers’ decision to overrule officials’ concerns and give the struggling charity a further £3 million:
‘Well, the government thought it was the right thing to do, to give this charity one last chance of restructuring to try to make sure it could continue its excellent work. Sadly that didn’t happen, not least because of the allegations that were made and private donors withdrawing their money, but I think the government was right to say, let’s have one last go at trying to keep this charity going, given the excellent work it has done for so many young people.’
One of the key questions for ministers in this saga has been why they went against guidance from the Cabinet Office permanent secretary to approve the £3 million grant, the terms of which Kids Company then breached by using it to pay staff.
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