South London church investigated for selling £91 ‘plague protection kits’ that could ‘ward off Covid’ now faces probe into its finances by Charity Commission
- Bishop Climate Wiseman, head of Kingdom Church in Camberwell, being probed
- He claimed this year a bottle of oil and red yarn would protect people from virus
- It led to a probe by charity watchdog in April, which saw link to the kits removed
- But the commission has now launched new inquiry into the church over finances
A London church investigated for selling £91 ‘plague protection kits’ that could ‘ward off Covid-19’ now faces a probe into its finances by the Charity Commission.
Bishop Climate Wiseman, head of the Kingdom Church in Camberwell, claimed earlier this year the small bottle of oil and some red yarn would protect people.
Media reports about his claims led to an investigation by the charity watchdog in April, resulting in the link to buy the kits being removed.
But the commission has now launched a new inquiry into the church, which is registered as a charity, over concerns about its management and finances.
The commission said it had examined the charity’s records, and was ‘concerned’ about the accuracy of the information provided for its income and expenditure.
Bishop Climate Wiseman, head of the Kingdom Church in Camberwell (pictured), is under investigation
He claimed earlier this year the small bottle of oil (left) and some red yarn (right) would protect people
The new probe, launched on August 7, will examine the charity trustees’ compliance with their legal duties around its administration, governance and management.
This will include an examination of its relationship with a connected organisation called Bishop Climate Ministries, which the charity claimed was responsible for the sale of the ‘plague protection kits’, the commission said.
Helen Earner, director of regulatory services at the Charity Commission, said: ‘Charities should be organisations that people can trust.
‘Many will have been concerned by allegations about this charity’s activities in relation to Covid-19, and so it is right that we, and others, have intervened.
‘Our own examination into The Kingdom Church GB has identified further concerns that require investigation, which is why we have now opened an official inquiry.’
In a blog post earlier this year, Bishop Wiseman claimed his concoction of cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet yarn acts as ‘an invisible barrier to the powers of darkness’.
He wrote: ‘It is by faith that you can be saved from the coronavirus pandemic by covering yourself with the divine plague protection oil and wearing the scarlet yarn on your body.
Bishop Climate Wiseman (pictured) who says his followers will be protected from coronavirus if they cover themselves with ‘divine plague protection oil and wear the scarlet yarn on their body’
‘That is why I want to encourage you, if you haven’t done so already, to get your divine plague protection kit today!’
He said in April the church had sold more than 1,000 of the kits.
He continued: ‘This is based on the Bible – I’m a Christian and there is a way that the Bible says to protect us from plagues.’
He previously insisted the church was not selling the kits, and the price tag was just to cover the cost of the ingredients, yarn and postage and packaging.
Bishop Wiseman said at the time his church was not telling people to ignore the Government’s advice.
The Charity Commission said it would continue to work with Southwark Council Trading Standards’ investigation into the sale of the kits.