Police probe after door lock ‘sabotaged’ at museum

Police are investigating after the locks to a museum at the centre of an inquiry by the regulator were broken.

Cheshire Police said a key had been snapped off in the lock at Congleton Museum and officers were looking into the incident.

The museum said the lock had been “sabotaged” but the team later gained access and a locksmith repaired the door.

It came after the Charity Commission confirmed it was investigating the museum over concerns about its governance, linked to a dispute between trustees.

As part of the row, calls were made for founding trustee Ian Doughty to resign over claims he changed the locks to the building and attempted to suspend his seven fellow trustees.

Speaking on behalf of the seven trustees, Anne Gubbins, one of the museum’s co-chairs, said the situation was “getting out of hand”.

A report, commissioned by the board of trustees, said the recent events “should be considered a serious incident” and were reported to the Charity Commission.

The regulator said: “We have opened a compliance case into Congleton Museum Trust to assess concerns raised about the charity’s governance.”

Arts Council England also confirmed it had added the museum to its risk register.

Mr Doughty has been repeatedly approached for comment, but previously said there had been a “misinformation campaign” waged against him.

He also described the independent report as “fake” and said the museum was not at risk.

“This project has enjoyed decades of success thanks to the work of our volunteers and we should all hope for this to continue,” he said.

Mr Doughty said he made a report to Cheshire Police claiming unauthorised payments were made from the museum’s bank account.

Ms Gubbins said these were made to someone who had done some work as part of a grant-funded project and to the author of the independent report.

“There was no earthly reason for why we shouldn’t have made these payments,” she said.

A spokesperson for Cheshire Police said: “Police are currently reviewing an allegation of fraud in relation to the museum. Enquiries are continuing.”