Exclusive:John Muir Trust accused of 'insider way of operating' ahead of AGM as complaints to charity regulator rise

The John Muir Trust (JMT), which has faced intense scrutiny in recent years with regards to its management, is due to have its annual general meeting next month.

The charity owns and manages some 25,400 hectares, including Quinag, a three peak mountain in Assynt, Sutherland, and was set up to protect “wild places”.

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Former trust chairman and member John Hutchison said he was “alarmed” after seeing that five candidates nominated for the election of trustees for this year were nominated “almost entirely” by existing trustees and family members of the incumbent chairperson and chief executive.

Mr Hutchison told The Scotsman: “This is an example of what the charity regulators warn us about. Some of those nominated had only just joined the trust last year. It means the charity isn’t getting any heavyweight experience coming through.”

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Mr Hutchison also accused the charity of having “an insider way of operating” after speaking to multiple members who had not received ballot papers and others who were not aware of an election for trustees taking place.

“I know there are people who weren’t aware there was a trustee election going on and it was almost invisible on the website when I checked before votes were due in,” he said.

A spokesperson for the JMT said the charity was made aware of ten people who did not receive ballot papers for different reasons.

“We contacted each member direct and ensured solutions were put in place quickly to enable them to vote,” the spokesperson said. “These queries were fewer than 0.1 per cent and all had an opportunity to vote before ballots closed.”

The charity said all members were invited to the AGM on September 15, which was highlighted in its spring/summer Journal publication, and given personal invitations to attend the meeting with instructions on registering and information on how to cast.

The JMT is said to have some 10,000 members.

Mr Hutchison said the charity lost about 10 per cent of its members last year, with the charity confirming some 19 redundancies and a financial loss of £1.9 million in the same year.

It was the same year a damning dossier was released listing detailed claims about why the charity has seen a wave of redundancies, the large financial deficit and alleged governance failures. Questions about the investigation into allegations made about the charity’s chief executive David Balharry and his subsequent reinstatement were also raised in the dossier.

The document, published in September last year and written by Alan McCombes, the charity’s former media manager, announced at the time some nine former trustees and staff members had submitted complaints about the JMT to the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR).

According to a Freedom of Information request, a total of 11 complaints have now been made to the OSCR since 2023. Mr Hutchison claimed at least another two complaints had been lodged more recently.

The accusations come after members of the trust complained to The Scotsman that last year’s AGM had the chat and hand raising function for the online meeting disabled.

Mr Hutchison, who was JMT chairman between 2009 and 2014, said: “It’s absolutely right and proper that members of a charity can put live questions to the board during the meeting. There has been a lack of openness and transparency and there seems to be a reluctance to being open and accountable to the members.”

A JMT spokesperson said: “The OSCR investigation has not yet concluded. Trustees have responded to all requests for information from OSCR and await their conclusions.”