The Charity Commission has ordered legal experts to examine the management of two Kent-based animal charities previously run by multimillionaire conservationist, and former casino owner, Damian Aspinall.
The Aspinall Foundation – originally the John Aspinall Foundation – was set up in 1984 as a wildlife conservation charity. The Charity Commission began investigating the Aspinall Foundation in July 2020. Things became more serious in March 2021, when the commission, by now growing even more concerned by what was being discovered, announced a statutory inquiry into both the Aspinall Foundation and The Howletts Wild Animal Trust. Although both organisations were formerly chaired by Damian Aspinall, they are quite separate and distinct legal entities. The Howletts Wild Animal Trust is an independent charity, which is wholly responsible for the operation of both Howletts Wild Animal Park near Canterbury and Port Lympne Hotel & Reserve near Hythe.
When news of the statutory investigation broke, the angle the press seized upon was that the foundation had, in January 2021, engaged the services of Carrie Symonds, the then PM Boris Johnson’s fiancée, as its press and communications chief. Clearly, the issues which concern the Charity Commission date back to well before Carrie Symonds, now Carrie Johnson, was involved, and there has never been any suggestion that she had done anything wrong or contrary to Charity Commission regulations. What remains unclear, however, is when, or even if, Carrie Johnson stepped down from her role at the foundation. It is widely assumed she no longer works for the animal charity, but no one seems willing to confirm this … or anything else.
Repeated attempts by Kent and Surrey Bylines to speak with a press spokesperson, or anyone, about what has been happening at the foundation hit a brick wall. A member of the foundation staff explained: “They have been advised that they are not able to comment on anything to do with this.”
Charity Commission appoints interim managers
The team of legal troubleshooters sent in earlier this year by the Charity Commission will act as interim managers and be responsible for key decisions in the running of the Aspinall Foundation. For clarity, interim managers have not been appointed to The Howletts Wild Animal Trust.
In a statement, the Charity Commission said:
“Our inquiry into The Aspinall Foundation is ongoing. Towards the end of last year, fresh issues of concern were identified requiring us to embark on a further phase of investigation, and our investigators are working hard to pursue these at pace”.
The role of interim managers
The government explanation of the role of interim managers is:
“The Commission can only use this protective power after opening a statutory inquiry under section 46 of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’), if it is satisfied either that there is or has been misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration of a charity or that it is necessary or desirable to protect the charity’s property.”
But the whole paper explaining this process was withdrawn from government publications on 28 April 2025. Why?
A guidance paper from the Charity Commission in 2024 explains:
The purpose of an inquiry is to investigate and establish the facts of the case, so that the Commission can:
- identify the extent of any misconduct and/or mismanagement
- assess the risks to the charity, its property (including, reputation), beneficiaries, employees, volunteers or work
- decide what, if any, action needs to be taken to resolve the concerns and ensure this takes place.
The Aspinall family
The Aspinalls have long been a colourful, if sometimes controversial family, with John Aspinall as its patriarch (see his obituary in the Guardian). Known as “Aspers” to his wealthy pals, among his closest friends was Lord “Lucky” Lucan, who disappeared in 1974 after murdering his childrens’ nanny, Sandra Rivett, mistaking her for his wife, who he had intended to kill. There has been speculation that John Aspinall and other associates may have helped Lucan to escape the country and justice. These suspicions were fuelled when he said, during a BBC interview, he would have done anything Lucan wished, adding that “breaking a friendship was more serious than breaking the law”.
London tiger walks remembered
Damian Aspinall’s mother, Lady Sarah Aspinall, was a Mary Quant model in the Swinging ‘60s. She shared her husband and son’s passion for animals, and was notorious at one time for walking tigers around Belgravia, in London, at night. She died, aged 80, earlier this year.
Damian Aspinall took helm of the foundation after his father died in June 2000. Until recently, it was believed Damian’s daughter, Freya, would eventually take control of the foundation. She may still do so.
Aspinall Foundation’s global conservation work and the rewilding debate
The Aspinall Foundation is famous for conducting conservation work around the world. The foundation owns around one million acres in Gabon where it reintroduces gorillas. It is thought the charity has an annual income of around £1.5mn from corporate and private donors. The foundation has, over the years, attempted and often achieved an impressive succession of preservation and rewilding of animals, significantly helping to safeguard endangered species.
However, its policy of resettling zoo-born or captured animals back into the wild has been strongly challenged by wildlife experts and environmentalists, who have expressed concern that the animals could face high risks of survival. Such concerns were highlighted when at least half of a group of ten gorillas taken to Gabon soon died, either because they were unable to fend for themselves or were killed by other gorillas. Similar concerns over the rewilding policy arose three years ago, when the foundation announced plans to release 13 zoo-born elephants to Kenya.
However, Damian Aspinall’s famous re-encounter with Kwibi, the gorilla he’d helped reintroduce back to the jungle five years earlier, still remains a truly emotional video. It demonstrates a sincere concern for the gorillas, and rather a lot of personal bravery.
Family-linked payments detailed in Aspinall Foundation accounts
When the Charity Commission launched its statutory inquiry into the foundation’s “financial management and wider governance”, it stressed the opening of an inquiry was not a finding of wrongdoing. Nevertheless, such an exercise is regarded as the most serious form of investigation, conducted only when there are serious concerns that a charity is at risk of wrongdoing and abuse. Just under a year later, the commission asked Damian Aspinall to step down. Aspinall responded by asking for more time to question the ruling before an official announcement, and it is understood his request was granted. According to the Charity Commission’s current register of trustees, Aspinall is still listed as the foundation’s chair and as a trustee.
Aspinall has been, and is, suspended as a trustee from The Howlett’s Wild Animal Trust.
Following new evidence relating to the Aspinall Foundation coming to light during the course of the commission’s inquiry, the non-conflicted trustees of The Howlett’s Wild Animal Trust took the immediate and swift decision to suspend Damian Aspinall as a trustee in December 2024 pending further investigation.
Subsequently, the Charity Commission issued its own statutory suspension of Damian Aspinall as trustee of The Howlett’s Wild Animal Trust (under section 76(3)(a) of the Charities Act 2011) in July 2025 following ongoing engagement with the trust.
In a statement to Kent and Surrey Bylines, a spokesperson for the trust said:
“The Howletts Wild Animal Trust is an independent charity, which is wholly responsible for the operation of both Howletts Wild Animal Park and Port Lympne Hotel & Reserve.
“The trustees, management and staff of The Howletts Wild Animal Trust continue to support the Charity Commission in its inquiry and welcome the measures it has taken to date.
“With the Charity Commission’s inquiry ongoing, we are unable to comment further. However, both parks continue to operate as normal, providing families a wonderful day out in Kent and carrying out vital conservation work to protect some of our planet’s most endangered animals.”
Allegations of family benefitting from the charity
Financial benefits were summarised in an article in The Independent on 2 August 2025. About the time the Charity Commission was instigating its inquiry, the Aspinall Foundation’s 2021 accounts disclosed how, in 2020, more than £150,000 was paid to Victoria Aspinall, the chair’s wife, for “interior design services”. The payment was defended by the charity, which insisted the fees charged by Victoria Aspinall were “subject to a rigorous benchmarking exercise to ensure the foundation received value for money”. Another family payment which raised questions, was a £30,000 a year pension paid to Lady Sarah Aspinall, Damian’s step-mother, for “gardening services”. This was defended by The Howletts Wild Animal Trust, which said Lady Sarah was entitled to the pension due to “prior service as head gardener for many years”.
Looking back at the foundation’s 2019 accounts, it was shown that the 30-room Howletts House, a neo-Palladian mansion in Kent owned by the charity, was rented to Damian Aspinall for the below market rate cost of £2,500 a month. Then, following an independent valuation, the monthly rent more than quadrupled in 2020, to just over £10,000 a month. It has also been reported that the charity made loans to Damian Aspinall and that in 2019, he owed the foundation £113,000.
Outcomes of the review
The Charity Commission is obliged to publish an inquiry report setting out its findings once the inquiry has ended. When that will be, no one knows for sure. A spokeswoman for the commission told Kent and Surrey Bylines: “As our inquiry into this charity is ongoing, we are unable to comment further so as not to prejudice the outcome.”
Be assured that we will report on these findings when they are released.
Since publication, this article has been updated to reflect the status of The Aspinall Foundation and The Howletts Wild Animal Trust as separate charities.
The Charity Commission has now suspended Damian Aspinall as a trustee of the Howletts Wild Animal Trust.
