Another alleged example of charity status being exploited. One man and his dog and his hubris.

By Paul Martin.

Robin Page, who presented the BBC sheepdog trials programme One Man and His Dog, has been sacked from the Countryside Restoration Trust, a UK charity he founded.

Trustees accused him of failing to observe standards of governance and damaging the charity’s reputation. 

Page has hit back on his twitter account, calling the trustees ”a band of nodding donkeys”.

In March, Page claimed he was being “bullied out” of the charity by a “group of greedy elderly men”.  He claimed they wanted to take the charity away from its members.

Page started the charity with one farm in 1983, and it has since grown to manage 18 properties around the UK.

The charity’s trustees denied that Page was being ‘bullied’ by them.  They had initially issued a statement stating Page’s role as executive chair was being ended on legal advice, but he had been invited to continue as a trustee.

Now, in a statement on its website, the charity said it had passed a resolution to remove Page as a company member with immediate effect, reported Third Sector, a charities website.

“This follows repeated public criticism of strategic decisions taken by the charity, including those he had supported as a trustee, and his failure to observe standards of governance required of a CRT trustee,” it said.

“By doing so, he has damaged the charity’s reputation and, despite extensive efforts to work constructively with Robin, the trustees have reluctantly concluded that the relationship has broken down irretrievably.”

The charity said it was in the process of reforming its organisational structure to help manage growth under a strengthened senior management team, and thanked Page for his many years of dedication.

“We are confident that the plans we have for its future growth will be in keeping with his vision to create a working countryside, where sensitive farming practices encourage and protect wildlife but also produce high-quality produce,” the charity said.

Page tweeted: “The CRT website – about me – in my view lie, after lie after lie.  They are thick too – they threw me out three weeks after I had left.  About normal for that band of nodding donkeys.”