Angelina Jolie 'quit Princess Diana mine-clearing charity in row over trustees paying themselves up to £500 a day'

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Published on Wednesday, 30 November -0001 00:00

Written by Daily mail

           Angelina Jolie has resigned from the landmine clearing charity made famous by Princess Diana in a row over trustees being paid as much as £500 a day, it has been reported.The actress is said to have felt 'extremely uncomfortable' after it emerged the two Halo Trust chiefs paid themselves more than £120,000 for a 'review'.The high profile charity, which clears landmines from war zones, was a favoured cause of the late Princess of Wales, and rose to prominence in 1997 when she visited a minefield it was clearing in Angola shortly before her death. Jolie quit her post as a trustee of the charity in May last year after 18 months on the board, citing other humanitarian aid commitments. She is well-known for her philanthropy and has worked as Special Envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees since 2012.However, now it has been claimed she was unhappy after thousands of pounds was spent on a review of the organisation's 'structural, remuneration and governance arrangements'.Chairman of trustees Amanda Pullinger and another trustee, Simon Conway, were paid a total of £122,750 for the work, and according to The Times, Jolie had raised objections over this.She reportedly said that the cost of the review should have been met by the trustees themselves, and that charity funds should not have been used. She had also raised concerns over the Dumfries based charity's decision to contribute towards the school fees for the children of some staff.'She left because she was extremely uncomfortable with the actions of the trustees,' an insider told The Times. 'The main thing was the trustees paying themselves. What she said was, 'If these trustees want to do a review, pay for it yourselves'.'The review into the way the charity operation was carried out after former chief executive Guy Willoughby, who co-founded the organisation in 1988, resigned.He had been suspended in July last year after a 'serious deterioration in relations' between him and the board, and left the role the following month.
          Prior to his resignation it had emerged that he had been receiving more than £70,000 to cover his children's school fees, a sum included in his pay package of between £210,000 and £220,000.The review covered the charity's human resources policies, financial planning and legal structures. Former hedge fund manager Ms Pullinger was paid £26,000, while author Mr Conway received £96,750 for his input into the review and for his role as an executive trustee while there was no chief executive. Both were able to claim costs on top of this.Photographs of Princess Diana's trip to Angola with the charity remain among the most enduring images of her, and her son Prince Harry served as patron of the Halo Trust's 25th anniversary appeal, visiting the African country himself to see the charity's mine clearing work there in 2013.His role as a patron came to an end in March. Other trustees of the charity include Cindy McCain, the wife of former US presidential candidate John McCain, ITV news anchor Tom Bradby and Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, who is private secretary to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry.  In 2013, its income was more than £26million, and in 2014-15 it received £5.7million from the Department for International Development.James Cowan, the Halo Trust's current chief executive, said Jolie had taken part in a unanimous vote approving the review and had left the organisation so she could 'do other things'. A spokesman for the charity told MailOnline: 'The Halo Trust is a global organisation employing 6500 people carrying out life saving work across four continents. As a charity we are always mindful of the need to spend the money that we receive wisely and this is what governs the decisions of our Board.'Recent attention has focused on our governance and payments to trustees. After a period of substantial change last year, which included the stepping down of our long standing CEO, we conducted a governance review to strengthen our internal processes, to become even more efficient and effective, ensure that we continue to attract and retain the highest quality staff, and to allow us to build a solid foundation for future growth. Two of the trustees were tasked with carrying out this work and running the organisation. They received payment for this, which was entirely appropriate. The payments were agreed by the Board and signed off by the Charity Commission.'The charity is lucky enough to have the backing of a number of high profile individuals including Ms Angelina Jolie. Ms Jolie decided to stand down as a trustee of Halo in May of last year, she remains a supporter of The Halo Trust and our mission to rid the world of landmines.'Jolie has not commented on the claims.

source : Daily mail