Kids Company charity founder and social justice campaigner dies

Kids Company and social justice campaigner Camila Batmanghelidjh has died aged 61.

The Kids Company charity was founded in 1996 in South London and helped 36,000 vulnerable children.

In 2015 she stepped down amid allegations of mismanagement – but a High Court cleared her of any wrongdoing.

In a statement released yesterday, Ms Batmanghelidjh’s family said she died peacefully in her sleep, on her birthday, having been ill for some time.

Following her death, the chrarity Brixton Soup Kitchen said she had donated more than 100 Christmas gifts just last week to less fortunate children.

The Iranian-born charity worker was the chief executive of Kids Company for 19 years, attracting celebrity backers including former Prime Minister David Cameron.

But the company was closed in 2015 after police launched an investigation – which was dropped seven months later – into allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation following a BBC Newsnight report.

During an ITV interview in 2017, Ms Batmanghelidjh described the allegations as “totally unfounded”.

Pictured top: Camila Batmanghelidjh founded Kids Company in 1996 (Picture: Dominic Lipinski/PA )