THE RSPB has admitted misleading the public about their spending on nature conservation following a complaint from Sir Ian Botham.
The former England cricketer, together with a group of shooting enthusiasts, complained to the Charity Commission about key statements posted on the RSPB's website.
One such statement claimed that 90p in every pound donated to the charity went directly to conservation work - a claim it has now admitted "could be construed as misleading."
The charity actually spends £21m on generating income, £13m on buying goods to resell in shops, £19m on education and communication and £4m on membership services - while their spending on the creation of nature reserves more than halved last year.
An RSPB spokesman said the charity accepted the original claims had not been "adequately or consistently explained".
Sir Ian, who lives in North Yorkshire, is the figurehead of You Forgot About the Birds - a campaign objecting to the RSPB's lobbying for grouse moors to be licensed to keep hen harriers from being killed by gamekeepers.
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