The head of one of Scotland’s largest environmental charities has been “fully exonerated” after an investigation into allegations of misconduct.
David Balharry, the chief executive of the John Muir Trust, was suspended over the summer but will now return to his post in the next six to eight weeks as the investigation is concluded.
The trust did not give any details about the nature of the complaints to “protect all parties involved and to retain confidence of staff”. Complainants have five days to appeal against the decision to reinstate Balharry.
Jane Smallman, the chairwoman of the trust, said: “We are delighted to have David return and pleased that we can now get back to focusing on our core objectives of protecting and restoring wild places for the benefit of communities, climate and nature.
“Following this investigation we will now seriously address what we can do to better protect staff from false allegations in future. The board of trustees would like to thank the staff for continuing to work with professionalism and passion during what has been a difficult period.”
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The report on the investigation, which was conducted by an independent organisation, was given to a subgroup of trustees that presented recommendations to the full board.
According to a spokesman for the trust, the “independent report made clear the evidence gathered did not support the allegations” and it was decided to reinstate Balharry in his role as chief executive.
Balharry was appointed to the post in 2019 after leaving the Scottish government, where he worked as a civil servant with responsibility for rural policy. He had also previously been a director of Rewilding Britain, worked for six years for the Crofting Commission and as technical director of the Deer Commission for Scotland.
In July it was announced Balharry had been suspended from his position while an independent investigation took place into unspecified allegations. A spokesman for the trust said at the time: “The John Muir Trust Board must ensure that while this independent investigation is under way all parties concerned are treated with fairness, equity and respect for their privacy. Therefore, the Trust is not in a position to disclose any further details at this time.”
In September Mary-Ann Ochota, the TV broadcaster, author and anthropologist, resigned as a trustee of the charity and claimed that “serious matters were being brushed over or signed off without proper scrutiny”.
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The John Muir Trust, which was established in 1983, was named after John Muir, the Scottish-born conservationist who is known as the father of national parks in the United States. It manages estates in the Highlands and Islands and campaigns for better protection of wild land.
