The Charity Commission has admitted it could have been clearer in its communication with a whistleblower who claimed she had been misled about the direction of an investigation into a charity.

Lara Hall, who volunteered overseas with the then-named British Pakistani Christian Association and whose complaint prompted the commission to open a compliance case in 2020, said the regulator’s handling of the situation had “betrayed my trust”.

The commission denied misleading Hall but admitted that its communication with her during the case should have been clearer.

The commission opened a case into BPCA, now called British Asian Christians Association, after Hall told the watchdog she had been targeted while volunteering with the charity.

Later that year, Dame Margaret Hodge, the Labour MP for Barking and Dagenham, which is where the BACA is based, wrote to the commission saying it had been “dismissive” of concerns raised about the charity and urging it to take evidence from whistleblowers.

During the case, commission officials repeatedly told Hall that the charity was being wound up and would leave the charity register, according to evidence supplied to Third Sector.

In two separate updates provided during the case, a Charity Commission official told Hall “the charity is winding up” and that “this organisation will no longer be able to call itself a charity”.

On a third occasion, an official said Hall could take reassurance from “knowing that this charity will be off the...

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