Now watchdog to probe LGBT charity after boss allegedly used a false CV

By GRAHAM GRANT, HOME AFFAIRS EDITOR FOR THE SCOTTISH DAILY MAIL Published: 23:18, 15 April 2026 | Updated: 23:18, 15 April 2026 Scotland's charity watchdog is assessing allegations that the former convener of a gay rights group for teens was appointed despite claims he had a bogus CV. LGBT Youth Scotland (LGBTYS) informed the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) of the row over Timothy Westwood. As the Mail reported yesterday, Westwood quit his role at the controversial charity for gay and trans children after accusations that his CV was a sham. Last night an OSCR spokesman said: ‘The charity [LGBTYS} has made us aware of this issue, and we will assess that information in accordance with our policy about how we deal with concerns and inquiries.’ Westwood, who claims to be aged 25, is linked to a residential address in Dartford, Kent. No one was available for comment yesterday. Scottish Tory deputy leader Rachael Hamilton said: ‘Following the latest revelations to hit LGBT Youth Scotland, it’s absolutely right that the charities regulator should launch an investigation.’ She said LGBTYS is a ‘controversial organisation’ which ‘receives taxpayer funding, but... [is] still peddling outrageous claims’. Timothy Westwood used computer manipulated images that appeared on the charity's website Ms Hamilton said: ‘SNP ministers should finally do the right thing and withhold funding from this group, just as BBC Children in Need have done, unless and until they get their house in order.’ Esther Bryan is said to be a CBE on Companies House records - but no one of that name is listed as having received the accolade. She has been registered to the same address as Westwood - and was formerly secretary of Westwood’s now-dissolved company, Westwood Shares Ltd. A Companies House filing for Westwood Shares Ltd changed details for Westwood to ‘Rt Hon. Lord Barony Timothy Guy Westwood’ - but this later reverted to Timothy Westwood. Ms Bryan, 53, who lives near Westwood in Dartford, declined to comment. It is understood the pair had a falling-out about a debt around five years ago - and Ms Bryan believes Westwood to be ‘horrible’. Westwood was billed as a ‘highly experienced third-sector [charity] leader, lawyer and governance specialist’ when he was appointed convener of LGBTYS last year. But he stepped down after charities whose boards he claimed to have served on denied having any knowledge of him. Westwood said he had served in senior leadership and advisory roles with the British Red Cross and Mind, the mental health charity, but both said they had no records of him working with them. He is not registered as a lawyer in Scotland or England. It also emerged Westwood used a bizarre computer-manipulated image of his ‘face’ on the LGBTYS website. After being alerted to the discrepancies, LGBTYS, which was once run by paedophile James Rennie, confirmed he had resigned. In 2024 Rosie Millard, chair of the BBC’s Children in Need charity, resigned alleging ‘institutional failure’ in a row over £466,000 in grants that had been awarded to LGBTYS. Children in Need later confirmed that it had stopped funding for the organisation. Taxpayers have footed a bill of more than £13million for the gay right charity. The extraordinary sum handed to LGBTYS was run up in the past decade – despite a slew of scandals. Some £3.9million of the total came directly from the Scottish Government – with the rest from other cash-strapped organisations including the NHS and local authorities. Asked about the Westwood row earlier this week, John Swinney said: ‘Obviously organisations have got to exercise all safeguarding responsibilities and all grant funding decisions are taken with the full scrutiny of all of these questions.’ A spokesman for LGBTYS said: ‘Our recruitment process includes becoming a member of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups scheme prior to appointment to the board and the OSCR. ‘We have contacted OSCR to make them aware of this situation.’ No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.