The Sunday Telegraph - 11.08.2019

12 ***^ Sunday 11 August 2019 The Sunday Telegraph

HUGH ROUTLEDGE/REX

Leave diversity

targets out of

ballet, say stars

By Bill Gardner

BALLET dancers are leading

a backlash against plans to

force Britain’s arts scene to

become more diverse, The

Sunday Telegraph has learnt.

Leading stars have said

public funding should not be

withdrawn from arts groups

simply because they cannot

prove their “relevance” to

the modern world.

Many dancers believe the

plan threatens artistic free-

dom, it is understood.

One described it as the

“deathbed of true creativity”.

Senior ballet executives,

meanwhile, fear they will

have to drop crowd-pleasing

productions such as Romeo

and Juliet and The Nut-

cracker because they tend to

attract white, middle-class

audiences.

The row broke out after

the Arts Council announced

earlier this year that thea-

tres, dance troupes and

other arts organisations

were required to demon-

strate their diversity in order

to attract funding.

“Relevance is becoming

the new litmus test,” an-

nounced Simon Mellor, the

deputy chief executive for

arts and culture. “It will no

longer be enough to produce

high-quality work.”

In June, the Arts Council

invited the arts world to re-

spond to its draft strategy,

which will ultimately decide

how millions of pounds of

public money are spent over

the next 10 years.

Dancers, choreographers

and chief executives have

privately urged the funding

body to drop the require-

ment for “relevance”,

sources said.

Concerns have been

raised in online responses,

and during workshops held

across the country.

“This idea has been

dreamt up by people who

simply don’t understand re-

ality,” one ballet figure said.

“They mean well, but

they’ll end up putting us out

of business. And it’s nearly

too late to stop them.”

Others have made their

views known in public.

“Attending the theatre

can’t always be about being

challenged,” wrote Gavin

McCaig, a leading dancer for

the Northern Ballet touring

company, in an article for

Dancing Times.

The Arts Council has reas-

sured organisations that the

plans are not yet set in stone.

“The full 10-year strategy

published in the autumn will

take all views into account,”

a spokesman said.

Fraudsters prey on

Charity Commission

By Sam Meadows

THE Charity Commission

has warned the public not to

be duped by fake charitable

trusts bearing the name of a

senior executive after it be-

came the victim of identity

theft.

Sarah Atkinson, the organ-

isation’s director of policy,

planning and communica-

tions, said she had been con-

tacted by several people

overseas who had been sent

paperwork allegedly carry-

ing her name and signature.

The potential victims,

who are sometimes charities

themselves seeking funding,

are contacted out of the blue

and offered money from a

charitable trust.

Ms Atkinson said it is not

clear whether the fraudsters

will then attempt to extract

cash for bogus administra-

tive fees or seek to gain per-

sonal information on the

target for use in future scams.

The commission has been

told of half a dozen cases in

the past year but fears there

could be many more as those

who fall victim are not likely

to come forward. The targets

are commonly based in the

US but the most recent case

was reported in Germany

last month. In one case, a

Christian charitable mission

in America was contacted by

a trust purportedly based in

the UK offering a “donation”

of £2.8 million.

The alleged trustee had

included a confirmation

form supposedly authorised

and signed by Ms Atkinson.

Ms Atkinson said: “These

people are trying to play on

people’s charitable goodwill.

It’s quite heartbreaking and

it worries us deeply that peo-

ple will take these things in

good faith and lose their

money.”

She added: “For me per-

sonally, my name being used

to defraud people is really

upsetting. My job is to pro-

tect charities, not to enable

them to be defrauded.”

The Charity Commission

is responsible for registering

and regulating charities in

England and Wales. If the

Commission registers an or-

ganisation it will be given a

registered charity number,

which can be checked by

visiting on its website.

News

Gales and torrential

downpours wreak

havoc across Britain

By Alex Shipman

PASSENGERS were trapped on trains
as heavy flooding closed a busy railway
line yesterday after torrential thunder-
storms and 60mph winds hit Britain.
Warnings over “slow moving, heavy,
thundery downpours” were issued by
the Met Office as gales and downpours
wreaked havoc across Scotland, North-
ern Ireland and England.
The West Coast Main Line was shut
after the tracks between Carlisle and
Lockerbie were submerged during
heavy downpours, with the water ris-
ing a up to a foot above the rails.
Passengers on five trains were
trapped or blocked by floodwaters,
Network Rail said.
Other routes were blighted by se-
vere delays and speed restrictions as
winds of up to 60mph blew debris on
to the tracks.
Trees on the lines caused delays be-
tween Ashford International and Hast-
ings, Guildford and Reading, Newbury
and Westbury and between Ipswich
and Lowestoft yesterday morning.
Heavy rain also caused major delays
on the A74 in Dumfriesshire as three

inches of rain fell in some parts of the

region over a 12-hour period of down-

pours.

A child was taken into protection af-

ter being found under Brighton Pier in

the early hours of morning and two

people have been arrested on suspi-

cion of neglect, Sussex Police said.

Emergency services were also sent

to Streatham Vale at around 1pm yes-

terday after a man in his 50s was hit by

a fallen tree. He was taken to hospital

and is now being treated for potentially

life-threatening injuries.

A Scotland Yard statement said: ‘Po-

lice were called at 1.04pm on Saturday,

August 10 to Greyhound Lane in

Streatham Vale following reports of a

man injured by a fallen tree. Officers at-

tended with London Ambulance Ser-

vice and London Fire Brigade.

Forecasters say winds of up 60mph

hit the Bristol Channel, the English

Channel and through the Strait of

Dover.

Passengers were stuck on cross-

Channel ferries for up to five hours as

ships were unable to enter the Port of

Dover due to high winds.

The port said it was operating a “one

ship in, one ship out” for services be-

tween Calais and Dover due to the con-

ditions.

The first day of the Cowes Week re-

gatta on Saturday was cancelled and its

Sunday schedule has been altered.

Bristol’s International Balloon Fiesta

was also cancelled in the afternoon. It

was expected to resume this morning.

LGBTQ+ pride events in Chester,

Plymouth and Milton Keynes have

been postponed.

The first day of Blackpool Air Show,

and the London Wildlife Festival,

scheduled for the weekend, were can-

celled amid concerns over conditions.

Trees caused damage to various rail-

way lines in the South East of England,

and speed restrictions were put in

place as a precaution.

There was disruption between Ash-

ford International and Hastings, Guild-

ford and Reading, Newbury and

Westbury, and Ipswich and Lowestoft.

More than 1,200 households were

left without power in Wales after

windy weather caused disruption.

The storms came a day after the UK

suffered a major power cut which hit

the energy supplies of nearly one mil-

lion people.

Forecasters expect heavy rain and

flooding to continue in Scotland today,

with the Met Office issuing a warning

to people in Dundee, Glasgow and

Edinburgh.

Flooding and debris from

60mph winds block major

roads and leave passengers

trapped on trains

A child was taken into

protection after being found

under Brighton Pier in the

early hours of morning

‘Attending the

theatre cannot

always be about

being challenged’

A racegoer struggles in the wind and rain during the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Mile at the Ascot Racecourse in Berkshire yesterday

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