Stoke Air Ambulance Scandal: Charity Closes After Regulatory Action and Financial Questions

Stoke Air Ambulance has announced it is closing and will begin an orderly winding-up of the charity, bringing an end to its plans for a dedicated air ambulance service for Stoke-on-Trent and surrounding areas. Trustees say the decision follows regulatory intervention alongside significant practical, operational and financial difficulties.

The closure comes months after the Fundraising Regulator found breaches involving misleading and unsubstantiated fundraising claims, criticism of other organisations and attempts to encourage donors to redirect existing donations. The regulator also found that the charity did not have an aircraft, operational base, clinical staff or the necessary approvals to provide a functional air ambulance service at the time of its investigation.

Adding further pressure, the Charity Commission opened a statutory inquiry into Stoke Air Ambulance over concerns including spending on fundraising and staff, the level of direct charitable delivery, conflicts of interest and payments to a company connected to a trustee. Stoke Air Ambulance now says all direct debits have been cancelled and that, after liabilities and winding-up costs are paid, any remaining funds will be passed to local charities with similar or related charitable aims.

The scandal had already left sections of the Stoke-on-Trent community deeply sceptical about the project, with some residents saying they had long feared the plans would ultimately collapse. Some are now expressing relief that the charity has closed, arguing that the controversy had damaged confidence in the organisation.

Stoke Air Ambulance is registered as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) rather than a conventional limited company, meaning the organisation is overseen by trustees rather than company directors. The Charity Commission currently lists Daniel Michael Moores, who serves as chair, alongside trustees Andrew Shaw and Adam Jonathan Sparkes. All three are recorded as trustees of the charity, which has now announced that it is winding up its operations.

The charity is also facing scrutiny over a potential conflict of interest after its accounts showed £28,038 was paid to a company controlled by chair and trustee Daniel Moores.

The Charity Commission is investigating the circumstances surrounding such payments, even though the charity is to close.