Category Archives: The Telegraph

The rise in rough sleeping is a complex cocktail of immigration, crime and despair. On the streets of Manchester on a bitterly cold day, I met a teenage couple, in love but on the streets. Both had been in care. His leg was in plaster after a punch up. She was on the way toContinue reading “The homeless are not all helpless victims – and their needs are more complex than we admit”

To children, MPs and celebrities, Kids Company head Camila Batmanghelidjh seemed every inch the mother-figure. But is she a saint or sinner? Harriet Sergeant, who’s reported on the charity for a nearly decade, explains all. Charismatic, warm and cuddly in bright dazzling clothes, she cut an exotic but nurturing mother figure – as far awayContinue reading “Kids Company founder Camila Batmanghelidjh: How the world fell for this ‘ultimate matriarch’”

There is no doubt that many of Kids Company’s staff do a heroic job. But to succeed, charities need scrutiny as much as public support. Camila Batmanghelidjh, the flamboyant founder of Kids Company, is stepping down after 20 years as its chief executive. It is a dramatic departure: the Cabinet Office refused to hand overContinue reading “Kids Company: Did good PR mask deeper failings?”