Transgender children’s charity Mermaids makes more than £140,000 training schools, NHS services and even barber shops

• In just four years, Mermaid’s income rocketed from £127,922 to £1.85million  
• During the period, between 2017 and 2021, it received taxpayer funding
• £50,000 National Lottery grant over five years on hold due to ongoing probe 
• One trustee quit this month after speaking at padeophile support group event

A children’s trans charity has made more than £140,000 by running training sessions for schools, NHS services and even barber shops.

In just four years, Mermaids’ overall income rocketed from £127,922 in the financial year ending 2017 to £1,847,868 by 2021.

During that period it has benefited from taxpayer funding, including a Department of Education grant towards extra schools training.

However an ongoing £500,000 National Lottery grant – due to be paid over five years – is now on hold amid a Charity Commission probe into allegations that Mermaids sent chest binders to children as young as 13 against their parents’ wishes.

The charity has sparked controversy over recent weeks with one of its trustees quitting this month after it emerged he had spoken at an event organised by a paedophile support group. 

The Prime Minister has backed demands for a thorough investigation into Mermaids after an MP said it was ‘high time’ the police investigate its work.

The Department for Education, which also once helped fund Mermaids, has also removed the charity from its list of mental health and wellbeing resources for schools.

Mermaids earned more than £61,000 from training in 2020-21 alone – double what it had predicted – according to its latest accounts.

Prime Minister Liz Truss (pictured) has backed demands for a thorough investigation into Mermaids after an MP said it was ‘high time’ the police investigate its work

Police faced an impartiality row yesterday after it emerged the force being urged to investigate Mermaids has received training from the charity.

West Yorkshire Police, which would lead any probe into the Leeds-based charity, received training on ‘trans awareness and support’ in 2019.

The sessions, which also had representatives from other forces, included slides which asked: ‘Where on the spectrum might your gender identity be?’ West Yorkshire Police has also promoted Mermaids’ work on Twitter and launched a number of hate crime investigations after complaints by Mermaids staff about social media comments.

Tory MP Laura Farris told The Daily Telegraph: ‘Given the serious allegations of child safeguarding failures made against Mermaids in recent weeks, it is imperative that any investigation is seen to be impartial and transparent.

‘It is concerning to read that West Yorkshire Police have engaged Mermaids services and the public may ask whether they would be able to undertake this investigation fairly.’

The charity said that it gave 59 training sessions at schools and others to youth choirs, NHS child and adolescent mental health services, paediatric nurses and GPs.

Other organisations to receive training included fostering agencies, universities and the police as well as social services, councils and businesses – including a barber shop.

It is not clear what these organisations paid for the sessions but Mermaids said the ‘income generated by these activities supplements training to support trans young people when little or no budget is available’ such as in schools.

Mermaids said it also collaborated on a number of fundraising partnerships last year with companies including Starbucks, Amazon Prime and Tropic Skincare.

Other corporate partners that have provided the charity ‘financial and practical support’ include Lloyds, Barclays and Tesco as well as Aon, BP and Unilever.

An earlier partnership with Starbucks and Channel 4 brought ‘millions of people to the Mermaids brand’ and a promised minimum £100,000 donation from the cafe franchise, the charity said.

Major law firms and the Financial Conduct Authority have also helped raise money for Mermaids as have other charities, including Children In Need which donated £128,000 over three years from 2016.

It has also enjoyed a flood of donations boosted by endorsements from Harry Potter actress Emma Watson and US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Stephanie Davies-Arai, director of campaign group Transgender Trend, said it was a ‘scandal’ that so many ‘red flags’ about the charity had been ignored. She added that Mermaids should be investigated, not funded.

A spokesman for Mermaids said the charity continues to provide ‘crucial support’ and dismissed the recent allegations as an ‘attack’.

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