Refugee Action: The Government-Funded Charity That’s Busy Lobbying the Government

Last week the charity Refugee Action penned a letter to Number 10, calling for the Government to “scrap the cruel new asylum bill”.

On Instagram the charity posted footage of its representatives handing the letter over…

… as well protestors standing in Parliament Square holding placards reading things like “SAY IT LOUD AND SAY IT CLEAR. REFUGEES ARE WELCOME HERE” and “ASYLUM MEANS SAFETY”:

What’s extraordinary about this charity is that it received £16,765,000 via government contracts and government grants between 2021-25:

Grants have come from multiple councils across the UK, including the Greater London Authority (£196,000, 2025) and Birmingham County Council (£1,141,000, 2025), the latter of which isn’t exactly renowned for having lots of disposable funds!

Refugee Action has also received funding from The National Lottery Community Fund and Comic Relief.

Despite such handsome funding – Refugee Action’s total gross income for 2025 was £6.86 million – its staff act like revolutionaries against the Establishment (rather than as they are, very much part of it).

Unfortunately, this trend of taxpayer-funded entities lobbying or protesting against the Government is completely normal. Almost every time I look into a new asylum and migration charity, I find it has engaged in some sort of activism – usually protests and open letters, which it tends to show off on its website. The Charity Commission is actually very relaxed about activism as long as charities aren’t being party political.

One example I recently stumbled on was the Helen Bamber Foundation,