The founder of Kids Company, which received at least £46m of government money despite civil servants’ concerns about how it was run, wrote of how she used “loving blackmail, arm-twisting and all manner of ghetto-strategies” to persuade politicians to give funds to the now defunct charity.
In an email sent to staff in 2013, Camila Batmanghelidjh celebrated the awarding of a £4.5m grant from Whitehall in typically flamboyant style.
The email, which was obtained by ITV News, was one of several which describe how she worked to keep afloat the charity, which was set up to help some of Britain’s most vulnerable children.
Ms Batmanghelidjh wrote that the grant would keep Kids Company going for two years.
She then continued in a light-hearted vein, which she may regret given the charity’s collapse earlier this year.
“There was definitely loving blackmail, arm-twisting and all manner of ghetto-strategies before we got to this point. But you know that we love politicians, we have compassion for them, and we are always waiting to rehabilitate them. Read between the lines,” she said.
