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Kids Company staff protest over charity’s closure

WORKERS from the Kids Company charity marched to Downing Street yesterday to protest against its closure.

Dozens of supporters carrying banners and chanting: “Save Kids Company, see the child,” marched from the charity’s offices in Camberwell, south London, to the gates of the Whitehall street to raise awareness of the vulnerable people the organisation supported.

The charity was forced to close its doors this week after funding ran out following allegations of financial mismanagement and sexual abuse relating to some of the young people in its care.

The charity strenuously denies the accusations and founder Camila Batmanghelidjh insists that the organisation has been the victim of “trial by media.”

Marcher Tom Ngoye said: “We’re worried about the young people we worked with. We had no chance to say goodbye to them.”

Ms Batmanghelidjh has denied reports that £3 million of government funding was withdrawn after it was discovered that part of the sum was going to cover staff wages.

She said that she had documents to prove that the government had been aware that this would be the case, adding: “It is very disingenuous to claim they did not know.”

Ms Batmanghelidjh also strongly denied claims that the charity had covered up allegations of sexual abuse involving young people in its care.

An investigation by BBC2’s Newsnight and BuzzFeed News heard claims that staff failed to act on complaints from girls, then aged 16 to 18, that male clients of Kids Company in their twenties had forced them into sexual acts.

Ms Batmanghelidjh said any such complaints had been dealt with “robustly.”

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