War Child UK (WCUK) is a left-of-center, London-based humanitarian organization that focuses on working with children in conflict areas around the world. ¹

War Child UK was at the center of a corruption scandal in 2001. The organization aimed to build a £3 million (around $4 million at 2026 exchange rates) music therapy center in Sarajevo, Bosnia, before WCUK co-founder Bill Leeson accepted a monetary “gift” from potential contractors for constructing the music center. Another co-founder, David Wilson, alerted the trustees of the charity when he was made aware that Leeson accepted a potential bribe. ^{2 3}

Berry Ritchie, a former chairman of trustees, said that he was “appalled” and that it “staggered” him to think anyone involved would feel “justified in taking the money.” Ritchie also commented on the opaqueness of the charity, stating that it took the trustees “some time to realise we didn’t know how much money was coming in,” and that they “certainly didn’t know how much was being spent.” ³

Background

War Child UK is a left-of-center, London-based humanitarian organization that focuses on working with children in conflict areas around the world. The organization was founded in 1993 by filmmakers David Wilson, Bill Leeson, and social entrepreneur Willemijn Verloop. It is the only specialist charity for children in conflict in the United Kingdom. ^{1 4}

The organization partners with organizations in conflict zones in 14 countries across the world to provide children with food, water, clothes, and blankets. WCUK works in countries such as Afghanistan, Syria, Sudan, Ukraine, and Yemen, and also works in the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank. ^{5 6}

War Child UK, alongside other national War Child organizations in the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, and the United States (where it is known as Children in Conflict), launched the War Child Alliance in January 2024. The War Child Alliance Foundation was also created to coordinate the War Child Alliance. ⁷

Anti-Israel Sentiment

War Child UK states on its website that the group and its partners are “rapidly scaling up” mental healthcare and education for children to “tackle the humanitarian crisis in the occupied Palestinian territories.” The organization claims that children in Gaza and the West Bank have “routinely faced violence, detention without trial, harassment and discrimination under Israel’s occupation.” ⁸

WCUK also listed a joint statement to the United Nations (UN) Security Council on its website. The joint statement is undersigned by the War Child Alliance and other NGOs, including the Norwegian Refugee Council,  a humanitarian non-governmental organization that prioritizes assisting refugees across the world; the Middle East Children’s Alliance, which provides humanitarian aid and financial support to Palestinian and other Middle Eastern children; and the Democratic Socialists of America, a far-left political activist group in the United States. ⁹ The statement called on all permanent and elected members of the UN Security Council to “enforce” the International Court of Justice’s order for Israel to halt military operations, as well as “enabling thorough investigations into violations of international law.” ⁹

Bosnia Corruption Scandal

War Child UK was at the center of a corruption scandal in 2001. The organization aimed to build a £3 million (around $4 million at 2026 exchange rates) music therapy center in Sarajevo, Bosnia, before WCUK co-founder Bill Leeson accepted a monetary “gift” from potential contractors for constructing the music center. Another co-founder, David Wilson, alerted the trustees of the charity when he was made aware that Leeson accepted a potential bribe. ^{2 3}

Berry Ritchie, a former chairman of trustees, said that he was “appalled” and that it “staggered” him to think anyone involved would feel “justified in taking the money.” Ritchie also commented on the opaqueness of the charity, stating that it took the trustees “some time to realise we didn’t know how much money was coming in,” and that they “certainly didn’t know how much was being spent.” ³

Other complaints included those about a member of the management committee flying business class to attend a cocktail party, and a consultant to the charity flying business class to meet the Croatian deputy prime minister. War Child UK also sent 11 members of staff to a concert for Liberian children organised by Luciano Pavarotti in Modena, Italy, in 1998. Pavarotti, who was a celebrity patron of the charity, walked away from War Child UK in 2001 after the corruption scandal surfaced. A spokesperson for Pavarotti stated he “did not want to be associated with anything that was corrupt.” ¹⁰

Financials

War Child UK had a total income of just over £13 million (around $17.5 million) in 2024, £1,401,436 (around $1.9 million) of which came in the form of five government grants. The organization’s total expenditure for 2024 amounted to £12.7 million (approximately $17.1 million). ¹¹

1. “Other ways to give.” War Child. Accessed December 29, 2025. https://www.warchild.org.uk/get-involved/other-ways-to-give. 
2. Wilson, David. “I exposed corruption at War Child. Here’s why whistleblowers need anonymity.” The Guardian. April 10, 2017. Accessed December 29, 2025. https://www.theguardian.com/voluntary-sector-network/2017/apr/10/whistleblower-war-child-need-anonymity-corruption. 
3. Hencke, David. “A charity caught up in chaos.” The Guardian. January 10, 2001. Accessed December 29, 2025. https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/jan/10/davidhencke1. 
4. “Our history.” War Child. Accessed December 29, 2025. https://www.warchild.org.uk/who-we-are/our-history. 
5. “Where we work.” War Child. Accessed December 29, 2025. https://www.warchild.org.uk/our-work/where-we-work. 
6. “What we do.” War Child. Accessed December 29, 2025. https://www.warchild.org.uk/our-work/what-we-do. 
7. Child, War. “War Child Launches Global Alliance.” War Child. January 29, 2024. Accessed December 29, 2025. https://www.warchild.net/news/war-child-launches-new-global-alliance/. 
8. “Gaza and the West Bank.” War Child. Accessed December 29, 2025. https://www.warchild.org.uk/our-work/where-we-work/gaza. 
9. “Joint statement to UN Security Council.” War Child. May 28, 2024. Accessed December 29, 2025. https://www.warchild.org.uk/news/joint-statement-un-security-council. 
10. Hencke, David. “Stars quit charity in corruption scandal.” The Guardian. January 10, 2001. Accessed December 29, 2025. https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/jan/10/davidhencke. 
11. “WAR CHILD – Charity 1071659.” 1071659. Accessed December 29, 2025. https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/3952298/charity-overview?_uk_gov_ccew_onereg_charitydetails_web_portlet_CharityDetailsPortlet_organisationNumber=3952298.