Second children's hospital poised to reverse decision and keep Presidents Club funds

A second children’s hospital is reconsidering its decision to hand back a hefty donation from the Presidents Club in the wake of the harassment scandal, it is claimed.

Evelina London Children’s Hospital may keep two six-figure donations it had previously vowed to return after concerns were raised that sick children could lose out.

The change of heart follows a similar rethink by Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) which has revealed it is in discussions with the Charity Commission about the £530,000 it had collected from the disgraced club since 2009.

Evelina, which is supported by Guy's and St Thomas' Charity, received four donations totalling £265,000 from the Presidents Club in 1998, 2013, 2016 and 2017.

At last month’s controversial dinner at the Dorchester hotel, London, at which female hostesses were groped and sexually harassed by businessmen, restaurant tycoon Richard Caring also pledged to donate £400,000 for a new intensive care unit at the hospital.

It is understood that in the wake of the scandal, which resulted in the Presidents Club closing down, he has offered to donate the money privately.

Evelina said last month that it was not the kind of event it wished to be associated with and would “therefore be declining funding from it and returning all previous donations from the Presidents Club".

However, Lord Fink, the former hedge fund boss and Evelina's honorary president, is said to have told trustees that he was opposed to returning the previous donations.

"He doesn't want to do anything which could disadvantage the sick children who are treated at the hospital," a person close to Lord Fink, a former Conservative Party treasurer, told Sky News.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Guy's and St Thomas' Charity said: "We have written to the Charity Commission about our proposed course of action and are currently in dialogue with them about our next steps."

It has been claimed that only one of the five organisations which vowed to return Presidents Club donations has so far formally applied to the Charity Commission watchdog to do so.

The Royal Academy of Music is said to have requested permission to return a £10,000 donation made in 2017 as a scholarship for a violin student.

The Liverpool-based Clatterbridge Cancer Centre and Alder Hey Children's Charity have also said they will refund donations.

GOSH said trustees would make a formal decision about the funds when they meet next month.