I’M sorry to say this but many charities are fraudulent.

They are not what they purport to be, which is champions of the oppressed, marginalised and voiceless.

No, they are there for the benefit of the people who operate them, whom they keep in well-paid, cushy and basically useless jobs.

So, next time you get an approach from a cold-caller or email soliciting donations, don’t touch it with a barge pole. Maybe easier said than done I know, because such people can be very plausible and persuasive. It’s their trade. They are con-artists.

Tony Kelly, Crook