Mr. Tony O'Brien:

If we were playing what I would metaphorically refer to as the "cover your arse" game throughout this process, that would probably have been a good thing to do. I would have shut it down before it made its representations and due consideration had been given. If we had been wrong, we could have destroyed not just one charity but perhaps the overall charity sector. We needed to follow the steps, conclude due process and follow the principles and practice that internal audit is required to follow before reaching a conclusion based on the full evidence.

When the report was provided to the national director who had to make a decision on what to do, the legal advice on it was again very clear, given that we have a contractual arrangement. She needed to give the body an opportunity and, right up to the day before it was completed, additional alleged evidence was being provided to try to put things in a different light. If we do not go through those steps, we do not get the right conclusion. The other issue is that throughout this period, the services we were buying were being provided in a way that was valued both by the clients using them and by ourselves. We must take that into account and we did.