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Welsh charity: We shouldn't have been in letter supporting the Conservatives

A Welsh charity says it should not have been included in a list of 5,000 signatories supporting the Conservatives' economic plans. 130 small and medium-sized business owners in Wales signed the letter, published in the Daily Telegraph.

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Welsh charity 'shouldn't have been in list backing Tories'

A Welsh charity says it should not have been included in a list of 5,000 signatories supporting the Conservatives' economic plans.

Diverse Cymru, which aims to eliminate discrimination and inequality in Wales, says it has contacted the Conservative Party to remove its name from the list immediately.

Its chair, Keith Dewhurst, is standing as a Tory candidate in the general election - but Diverse Cymru says those activities are separate from his work with the charity.

We are not affiliated with, allied to or supporters of any political party in compliance with the relevant Charity Commission laws, regulations and guidelines.

Diverse Cymru’s name should not and should never appear on any list of political endorsements such as the one published today in the Telegraph of entrepreneurs of small businesses, neither of which terms apply to Diverse Cymru.

We believe we were included in error and have contacted the Conservative Party to remove our name from this list immediately, and are also working to ensure that Diverse Cymru is not similarly cited in future.

Diverse Cymru’s Board includes individuals with a wide-range of political opinions and has a strict policy on board member’s party affiliations not forming part of Board discussions or decisions.

Although our Chair, Keith Dewhurst, is an active member of the Conservative Party and is currently campaigning for the upcoming election these activities are independent to and separate from the work he undertakes on behalf of Diverse Cymru.

– Diverse Cymru statement

The Charity Commission has said it will be writing to Diverse Cymru "to establish the facts and remind the trustees of our guidance. We do not expect to take any further regulatory action.”

130 small and medium-sized businesses from Wales signed the letter.

A software company in Berkshire has also said one of its staff has been wrongly listed as a signatory to the letter, published in the Daily Telegraph this morning.

Read More: Signatory of letter backing Conservatives 'did not sign it'

130 Welsh small businesses sign letter backing Tories

130 small and medium-sized businesses from Wales have signed a letter in the Daily Telegraph, backing the Conservative-led government to "finish what they started."

They joined a list of 5,000 signatures supporting the Tories' economic plan ahead of the general election.

The letter, on the front page of the Telegraph, said 'a change now would be far too risky.'

The letter says: [the government] managed to get the economy moving again by tackling the deficit, helping to keep interest rates low and inflation down. We’ve been helped by their steps to lower taxes, reduce red tape, simplify employment law and get the banks lending."

Labour has responded by accusing the Tories of "five years letting down Britain's small businesses. Government scheme after government scheme designed to boost finance for small firms has failed, and small business lending has fallen by £500m in the last three months."

The letter has caused controversy after a company included in the list said one of its staff members had been wrongly listed as a signatory.

Read More: Signatory of letter supporting Tories 'did not sign it'

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