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Kids Company charity founder Camila Batmanghelidjh dies aged 61, family say

Ms Batmanghelidjh died on Monday after a lengthy illness, her family confirmed.

Joseph Draper
Tuesday 02 January 2024 22:34 GMT
Camila Batmanghelidjh has died aged 61 according to reports (Dominic Lipinski/PA)
Camila Batmanghelidjh has died aged 61 according to reports (Dominic Lipinski/PA) (PA Archive)

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Tributes have been paid to the ā€œdedicatedā€ social justice campaigner Camila Batmanghelidjh who has died aged 61.

Ms Batmanghelidjh, an Iranian-born social justice campaigner, founded Kids Company in 1996Ā to support vulnerable children and young people in London and Bristol.

In a statement on Tuesday, Ms Batmanghelidjhā€™s family said she died peacefully in her sleep on Monday after a period of ā€œfailing healthā€, describing her as an ā€œendless source of inspirationā€ who ā€œdedicated her life to advocating for Britainā€™s most vulnerable childrenā€.

Her charity attracted several celebrity backers including former prime minister David Cameron, Coldplay, artist Damien Hirst and comedian Michael McIntyre ā€“ and Ms Batmanghelidjh was made a CBE for her work.

But it was wound up in 2015 after police launched an investigation, which was dropped seven months later, into unfounded allegations of abuse and exploitation, following the broadcast of a BBC Newsnight report.

In 2021, a bid to ban Ms Batmanghelidjh and seven ex-trustees from being company directors was rejected by a High Court judge, who commended her ā€œenormous dedicationā€ to young people.

In 2022, the Charity Commission later published a report concluding that the charity had been mismanaged, claiming it operated a ā€œhigh-risk business modelā€.

For all those around her, and especially for her family, she was an endless source of inspiration, a fountain of wit, and a kaleidoscope of colour

Family statement

Later that year, Ms Batmanghelidjh won a High Court bid to pursue a judicial review of the report.

Ms Batmanghelidjhā€™s family said she died ā€œpeacefully in her sleepā€ on New Yearā€™s Day after celebrating her birthday with her loved ones.

The statement said: ā€œWorking alongside her devoted colleagues and dedicated volunteers, Camila changed the lives of tens of thousands of children and young people in London, Bristol and Liverpool otherwise neglected by a failing child protection system.

ā€œShe showed these children that they were worthy of love and support.

ā€œFor all those around her, and especially for her family, she was an endless source of inspiration, a fountain of wit, and a kaleidoscope of colour.

ā€œCamilaā€™s family hopes that her memory will inspire others to consider how they might protect and uplift vulnerable children.ā€

In her 2021 High Court judgment, Mrs Justice Falk described Ms Batmanghelidjh and seven Kids Company trustees as ā€œhighly impressive and dedicated individuals who selflessly gave enormous amounts of their time to what was clearly a highly challenging trusteeshipā€.

Speaking after the hearing, Ms Batmanghelidj said she hoped the ruling would be the ā€œfirst step in refuting the many lies that have been told and banishing the false mythsā€.

She described the Charity Commissionā€™s report the following year as a ā€œcorrupted attemptā€ to ā€œjustify its mistaken decision to conduct an investigation in the first placeā€, later winning a bid to challenge the watchdogā€™s findings at court.

But, in an obituary on her website,Ā her family said Ms Batmanghelidjā€™s health declined as she was engaged in ā€œlegal battlesā€, explaining that a condition in her childhood had left her immunocompromised.

It said that, since the pandemic, she had left her flat in North London on ā€œonly a few occasionsā€ to receive treatment for recurring infection.

The obituary concluded: ā€œUntil her death, she continued to work with vulnerable children, who called her or visited her to discuss their traumas, their insecurities, and their challenges.

ā€œCamila wanted to honour these children with the care and protection they deserved.ā€

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