Earlier this month, Helen Earner, Director of Regulatory Services at the Charity Commission, accused journalists like me of spreading “online misinformation” by accurately reporting on the activities of the charity City of Sanctuary UK.
To recap, in late 2025 I covered the fact that the charity had been encouraging children to make Valentine’s cards for asylum seekers.
After it received multiple complaints from MPs and others worried about the scheme, the Charity Commission launched a compliance case into City of Sanctuary’s activities – ultimately concluding that there was nothing to see here.
As a statement by the regulator put it, these Valentine’s Day cards were merely “heart-shaped general messages of welcome to refugees” (as if that’s any better) to be displayed in schools and at a “separate charity supporting refugees for display in its premises”.
