Fat-cat salary probe into mother and daughter who run youth charity that Meghan Markle champions

• Probe launched days after portraits of Meghan and husband were published
• One Young World describes itself as ‘global forum’ for young leaders
• It has enjoyed a soaring public profile thanks to the Duchess of Sussex  

A charity championed by the Duchess of Sussex is facing an investigation after it emerged the mother and daughter at its helm were paid almost £2 million in less than five years.

In a dramatic move, the Charity Commission launched the probe into One Young World just days after portraits of Meghan and the Duke of Sussex taken at the charity’s annual summit in Manchester in September were published.

One Young World describes itself as a ‘global forum’ for young leaders and has enjoyed a soaring public profile thanks to the Duchess, who became one of its ‘counsellors’ in 2014.

Meghan told delegates in Manchester she was ‘thrilled’ Harry was able to join her to ‘witness first hand my respect for this organisation’.

But The Mail on Sunday can reveal that the regulator has intervened amid concerns at the eye-watering pay and benefits packages handed to senior bosses at the charity.

 SPECIAL GUEST: The Duchess of Sussex greets One Young World’s CEO Kate Robertson

DAUGHTER: Ella McKay, a managing director at the charity

There is no suggestion that Meghan and Harry – who are among a string of celebrity backers of the charity including Richard Branson, Bob Geldof and Emma Watson – knew of the pay levels.

One Young World’s chief executive Kate Robertson was awarded a £440,000 pay package for the 18 months to June 2021, despite the pandemic interrupting its summits, the biggest source of its revenue. Her daughter Ella McKay, 33, one of the charity’s two managing directors, enjoyed a £194,543 pay and benefits package for the same period.

Following questions from this newspaper, the Charity Commission this weekend announced that it had opened a ‘regulatory compliance case to examine concerns about remuneration at One Young World’.

In a statement, a spokesman said: ‘All charities should be able to look donors and volunteers in the eye and say how their decisions about pay impact on the cause they pursue or the people they help.’

The Commission said the opening of a compliance case is not a finding of wrongdoing, but is the first step it can take in examining potential wrongdoing.

A spokesman for One Young World said it was working with the Commission ‘to answer any questions they may have’, adding: ‘We are confident that there has been absolutely no wrongdoing.’

Founded in 2009 by top advertising executives Mrs Robertson and David Jones, One Young World says it has created a network of more than 13,700 young leaders.

Its annual summits have attracted a host of celebrities. At this year’s four-day summit, Harry and Meghan gave a speech during the two-hour-long opening ceremony in Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall after flying to the UK.

Its annual summits have attracted a host of celebrities. At this year’s four-day summit, Harry and Meghan gave a speech during the two-hour-long opening ceremony in Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall after flying to the UK

Attendance at One Young World’s summits does not come cheap: delegates are charged £3,150 for a pass that includes lunch and dinner. A pass that also includes accommodation costs £4,210. Those fees – and separate fees for exhibition space – are the charity’s main sources of funding, but revenue plunged after a summit due to be held in Munich was delayed until July 2021 by the pandemic.

The charity’s accounts show that despite it not holding a summit between 2020 and 2021, its top five bosses including Mrs Robertson and Mrs McKay were awarded almost £1.4 million in pay and benefits.

The charity said 84 per cent of the total pay and benefits were deferred until the next accounting period, but confirmed executives will still receive the full amount.

It said that the salaries of its leadership team had been independently audited and approved by its trustees. Both Kate Robertson and Ella McKay’s salaries are set by the board independently of any involvement of Mrs Robertson, it added.

There is no suggestion that Meghan and Harry – who are among a string of celebrity backers of the charity including Richard Branson, Bob Geldof and Emma Watson – knew of the pay levels

Mrs Robertson, 67, one of the charity’s four trustees, was appointed chief executive in May 2016 on a total pay package of £126,666. The charity last night admitted that it only realised in 2017 that it needed Charity Commission permission to pay Mrs Robertson because she was also a trustee.

The regulator granted permission the following year. Accounts show she received £1.3million in pay and perks between January 2017 and June 2021.

Leading an organisation that employs just 33 staff, Mrs Robertson’s pro-rata remuneration of £293,333 in 2020/21 was noticeably higher than some larger UK charities. It was £60,000 more than the pay package enjoyed by the head of Cancer Research UK, which employs 3,873 staff.

One Young World said Mrs Robertson’s salary has remained £190,000 since 2016. Mrs McKay has been awarded more than £580,000 in pay and benefits between 2017 and 2021. Trustee David Jones said the charity ‘complied with Charity Commission regulations.’ He said its executive salaries ‘are lower than the peer group charities and NGOs against which we benchmark ourselves’.

Source: Read Full Article