Animal charity reported to police after concerns

The charity regulator for England and Wales has reported its concerns about an animal charity to police in line with its "policy on evidence of potential criminal activity".

The Charity Commission's report comes after former Drone to Home volunteers told the BBC the charity had been exaggerating how many dogs it finds in what they described as an attempt to increase donations and sponsorship.

Drone to Home was founded by former Nottinghamshire Police officer Phil James in 2022 and quickly became well-known, with more than 154,000 Facebook followers and widespread media coverage.

The BBC has asked James and the charity's remaining trustee to comment but they have not responded.

Drone to Home announced its intention to close on 22 November, after the BBC sent James and the charity a "right of reply" letter, outlining allegations we were intending to report and the testimony gathered from former volunteers.

The Charity Commission said it had since received formal notice to close the charity, and also opened a regulatory compliance case, which is the first stage in investigating a charity.

However, the regulator said its role was to "oversee trustees' compliance with charity law duties and responsibilities", and "not to investigate allegations of a criminal nature".

A Charity Commission spokesperson said: "After concerns were raised with us about Drone to Home, we opened a regulatory compliance case to assess these further and gather more information.

"In line with our policy on evidence of potential criminal activity, we reported our concerns to the police.

"Based on the information available to us, we have since determined there is no further role for the Commission as charity regulator. However, we continue to engage with the charity on its closure."

According to its website, Drone to Home was "the first dedicated dog drone searching registered charity in the UK".

It claimed to have reunited thousands of dogs and other pets with their owners, and was largely funded by donations from the public.

In its third year alone, the charity received £157,435 in "grants and donations", according to accounts submitted to the Charity Commission.

However, four former Drone to Home volunteers claimed to the BBC the charity had been exaggerating how many dogs it reunited with owners.

Volunteers from other animal search and rescue (SAR) organisations also told the BBC they thought the charity had been using Facebook posts to falsely give the impression it was responsible for finding lost dogs that had been found by other rescue groups.

Numerous people also raised concerns about the behaviour of James.

Four women - including one former Drone to Home volunteer - told the BBC they felt intimidated when he followed them around and filmed them as they helped in the search for a lost dog in Long Clawson in Leicestershire.

In another incident, James contacted a volunteer drone pilot's employer and left a voicemail falsely accusing him of "abusing my staff on social media".

Another former Drone to Home volunteer was also sent a fake legal letter, accusing her of defamation after she raised concerns about the charity with a friend.

It purported to be from a barristers' chambers called 7BR, which told the BBC it had "reported this incident to the police on the basis that someone appears to have fraudulently misused the 7BR letterhead".

The BBC asked Drone to Home and James about all of these matters, and he responded by disputing the claims and threatening the corporation with legal action.

The charity's Facebook page closed on 24 November and the website closed on 20 December.

The Charity Commission said it intended to dissolve the charity after three months from 5 February, which was the date it published a notification on its register.

The charity has been reported to Nottinghamshire Police by the Charity Commission. Nottinghamshire Police declined to comment when contacted by the BBC.

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