Cherie Blair's sister, Lauren Booth, 50, has been banned from serving as a trustee for the Islamic charity Peacetrail, after £90,000 raised by her Islamic appeal allegedly went missing. The Charity Commission said that Lauren Booth was unable to account for up to half of the spending by her fund to help Palestinians and Muslim converts.
Lauren Booth is the daughter of the late actor and left-wing supporter, Tony Booth, and his lover, Pamela Smith, a model. Cherie Blair's mother was Tony Booth's wife, Gale Howard who was an actress.
Lauren Booth, who us a journalist, converted to Islam in 2010 after having a “holy experience” in Iran. Since then, she has been a vocal and energetic advocate of Islam.
Born Sarah Jane, Lauren Booth is said to have publicly embraced a highly politicised form of Islam. She served as a patron of the pressure group Cage, that had once allegedly described Mohammed Emwazi, also known as “Jihadi John”, as a “beautiful young man”.
She has never shied away from attacking Tony Blair, her brother-in-law, stating that he had “overseen a war where a million people who are Muslim have been killed”.
The Charity Commission removed her as a trustee after they allegedly found her answerable for “misconduct and /or mismanagement”. Furthermore, she has also been banned from serving on the board of any charity unless she is permitted to do so from the regulator or the courts.
Her husband, Sohale Ahmed, 53, has also been banned from serving as a trustee of any charity for four and a half years. Ahmed had been made chief executive of the appeal.
The Charity Commission found that at least £92,110.35 of expenditure “remained completed unaccounted for”.
Reports from an investigation by the commission reveals that about £40,000 of charity funds had allegedly been withdrawn from cash points and by cashing cheques, without any paperwork given to back up its use.
It is said that charity money had also been used on first-class travel and accommodation abroad and in the UK, as well as valet parking.
However, Lauren Booth stated that during her time as a trustee, she has served and supported “numerous projects for the Palestinian people in the Gaza strip”. She also said that the work provided “over £100,000 in donations” which was put towards “support in health, housing and education for some of the most needy families in the region”.
Another trustee, Nadeem Ahmed, was also removed from his post by the commission.
On 31st October 2017, Peacetrail was removed from the charity register, and ultimately dissolved.
