Head of Christian charity Patrick Sookhdeo faces sex assault charge

The head of one of Britain’s biggest Christian charities has been charged with sexual assault on a woman.

Patrick Sookhdeo, the international director of the Barnabas Fund, was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault in March and police confirmed on Sunday he has now been charged.

The 67-year-old, a former government adviser on cultural issues, has been released on police bail and will appear at Swindon Magistrates’ Court this month.

The Christian charity he runs – whose patron, the Marquess of Reading, is a close friend of the Prince of Wales’s – now faces scrutiny by the Charity Commission.

A spokesman for the regulator told The Independent: “We have contacted the charity to determine what it is doing from a governance point of view in managing this serious situation as we may give advice as appropriate.”

They added that suspending Mr Sookhdeo would be “a decision for the trustees themselves to make”.

A spokesman for Mr Sookhdeo said: “Patrick strongly denies any allegations that have been made against him but is co-operating with the relevant authorities.”