Camila Batmanghelidjh CBE (/kəˈmɪlə bætmænˈɡɛlɪdʒ/; Persian: کامیلا باتمانقلیچ; 1963[a][1][2] – 1 January 2024) was an Iranian-Belgian author, psychotherapist, and charity executive based in the United Kingdom.

[11][12] The official receiver's allegations that Batmanghelidjh and seven Kids Company trustees were unfit to hold directorships were dismissed in February 2021 in a high court judgement delivered by Mrs Justice Falk.

[14] The Commission made a finding of "mismanagement in the administration of the charity" over its repeated failure to pay creditors, including its workers and HMRC, on time.

[15] Camila Batmanghelidjh was born in Tehran, Iran in 1963,[a] the third of four children, to Fereydoon Batmanghelidj (c. 1931–2004), a doctor, and his wife Lucile, a Belgian national.

[19] Batmanghelidjh said that the preterm birth resulted in her developing learning difficulties (including dyslexia), and a self-proclaimed endocrine disorder affecting her weight.

[29] In 1991, Batmanghelidjh was involved in the formation of The Place to Be, a Family Service Unit project working with troubled children in primary schools.

[35] In 1996, after leaving The Place To Be, Batmanghelidjh founded Kids Company, a charity that provided care to children whose lives had been disrupted by poverty, abuse, trauma and gang violence.

Originally a single drop-in centre in Camberwell, Kids Company claimed it helped some 36,000 children, young people and families.

[36] In her judgement in the 2021 High Court case Mrs Justice Falk stated that Kids Company had a "significant cohort of employees, together with a number of self-employed staff and volunteers".

[43] Deborah Orr, in an interview with Batmanghelidgh, reported in 2012 that 15 independent evaluations of Kids Company had found that 96% of children assisted returned to education and employment and it had an "impact on crime reduction" of 88%.

[46] Later, it emerged that Batmanghelidjh had asked the Cabinet Office to bring in KPMG accountants to identify the number of abused, neglected and mentally ill children the State had legal responsibility for, which was not being met, so that instead they were self-referring to the charity.

[47] The central challenge for the charity and its sustainability was the fact that abused children and young people were not only accessing the provision themselves, but also referring friends who were being harmed.

[48] In 2014, Batmanghelidjh invited the Centre for Social Justice to review child protection failings in Britain and the outcome was a damning report called Enough is Enough.

[51] Kids Company received a £3 million government grant in July of that year but within ten minutes of the money transfer,[citation needed] allegations of sexual abuse emerged via Newsnight.

[62] In February 2016, the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) released a report describing the collapse of Kids Company as "an extraordinary catalogue of failures".

The Trustees' negligent financial management rendered the charity unable to survive the predicted reduction in donations following the emergence of allegations of sexual abuse.

[66] Mrs Justice Falk in the High Court said: "Most charities would, I think, be delighted to have available to them individuals with the abilities and experience that the trustees in this case possess.

[14] The Commission criticised the trustees and former CEO of Kids Company and made a formal finding of "mismanagement in the administration of the charity" over its repeated failure to pay creditors, including its own workers and HMRC, on time.

[78] In January 2009, Batmanghelidjh was awarded an honorary degree by the Tavistock & Portman NHS Trust in conjunction with the University of East London for "significant achievements for children and young people living in poverty.

[83][84] In 2002, she was interviewed by Fergal Keane for Taking A Stand, a radio documentary exploring her work as an advocate for "society's most anti-social, violent and disruptive children".