Tag Archives: Hypocrisy

HYPOCRISY IS DEEPLY EMBEDDED WITHIN THE CULTURE OF CANCER RESEARCH UK

What is hypocrisy?

The Cambridge English Dictionary defines it thus:

Hypocrisy (hɪˈpɒk.rɪ.si); a situation in which someone pretends to believe something that they do not really believe, or that is the opposite of what they do or say at another time:

There’s one rule for her and another rule for everyone else and it’s sheer hypocrisy.

And this definition fits perfectly in describing the culture within Cancer Research UK and its policy of accepting recognition both individually and collectively while refusing to offer recognition to Jim Cowan, the person who created their most popular and significant fundraising event; the Race for Life.

This culture of hypocrisy comes from the very top of the organisation with the new CEO, Michelle Mitchell, leading the way in continuing the practice embedded by her predecessor, Harpal Kumar. Both have refused to recognise Jim Cowan for his incredible contribution to the charity’s fundraising and yet both are happy to accept recognition for their own work, including a knighthood by Kumar and an OBE by Mitchell.

The organisation’s Chairman, Leszek Borysiewicz, is no better. He endorses the refusal to recognise Cowan but has also accepted recognition for himself in the form of his knighthood.

What about Cancer Research UK’s committees and trustee membership? On page 45 of their 2017/18 Annual Report we can see that the thirteen strong list includes three knights and one dame. Yes, the hypocrisy runs deep within the very fabric of the charity and is clearly endorsed from the top down.

What of other examples? There are many and anyone following the organisation’s social media will see regular tweets and posts offering recognition and thanks to those who help the charity, and thanking those who recognise them. But recognition for Jim Cowan, not a peep.

Examples include using Father’s Day as a marketing tool and calling on people to honour fathers affected by cancer while ignoring Jim Cowan and denying him recognition for creating the event, in full knowledge of the fact that the inspiration behind Jim’s creating of the Race for Life was his own father’s cancer diagnosis in 1993.

How about Cancer Research UK’s own annual Flame of Hope awards in recognition of their volunteers achievements, something we applaud. But every time they Tweet or otherwise share details of Flame of Hope Award winners without also recognising the man who created the Race for Life they again demonstrate that deeply embedded cultural hypocrisy.

Then there was Nicholas McGranahan, group leader at the CRUK-UCL Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence, who last year won the MD Anderson Wilson Stone Memorial Award. Cancer Research UK were quick to applaud the award, to promote the achievements of one of their own. But what of Jim Cowan? Still nothing. 

The examples are many, of which these are but a few, led by the people at the very top of the charity every one of them providing a dictionary definition example of the hypocrisy which is not only embedded within the organisation but actively encouraged by Cancer Research UK’s leadership.

We do not criticise the recognition of any of the above, we take that recognition at face value and assume it to be deserved. But we ask Cancer Research UK, doesn’t Jim Cowan deserve recognition too? Doesn’t the person who created your biggest and most popular fundraising event deserve recognition (if not thanks) too?

Recognition for Jim Cowan is long, long overdue, a quarter of a century overdue. We had hoped that change at the top at Cancer Research UK would finally bring that change. Unfortunately, hypocrisy continues to reign supreme.

In the Race 4 Truth, Cancer Research UK are lagging behind.

EVENT EXAMINING HOW TO RESTORE TRUST IN CHARITIES WILL HAVE NO EXTERNAL INPUT

The officially backed ‘Inside Government’ organisation are to host an event in July to examine how charities can start regaining public trust.

It appears that it is not only Cancer Research UK that the public are losing trust in, the need for the event suggesting sector wide issues.

The event, ‘Raising Levels of Trust Across the Voluntary Sector’ was tweeted by Inside Government and retweeted by (among others) the Fundraising Regulator Gerald Oppenheim, suggesting he too is aware of issues within the sector he regulates.

Unfortunately, every single speaker at the event is an ‘insider’ being from either a charity or an official body. Further, the event seems priced to deter those with an interest or a view to share from attending; the cheapest fee for booking a place being £325 (yes, you read that right).

Concerned that the event might miss valuable insights and information from someone affected by the decline in integrity and morals in the sector, someone who has been lied about and seen those leading a charity display mind-boggling levels of hypocrisy, we shared the details with Race for Life creator Jim Cowan.

Jim informs us that he got in touch with the organisers through their online enquiry form and offered to speak of his experiences at the event free of charge. The response? Silence. Jim’s offer was not considered worthy of acknowledgement, let alone a response.

Might we suggest that if levels of trust across the sector are to be improved, ignoring genuine offers to provide input and support is not a great way to start? Further, by excluding the very external knowledge the event agenda is lacking, the event appears to be little more than lip service to a problem which is only going to get worse if not addressed properly.

On the positive side; at least staging the event means that the issue is being recognised.

Find out more details about the event on the Inside Government website here: www.insidegovernment.co.uk/raising-levels-of-trust-across-the-voluntary-sector/

JIM COWAN’S RESPONSE TO CRUK CEO MICHELLE MITCHELL

On 18th April we shared details of our letter to Michelle Mitchell, Cancer Research UK’s new Chief Executive, regarding that charity’s disgraceful and continued refusal to recognise Jim Cowan for creating the Race for Life.

On 23rd April, we shared Mitchell’s non-reply which stated their hypocritical most recent position that they do not recognise anyone with originating any of their events. Other than that statement, her reply ducked all the points raised, stating that as they related to Mr Cowan she would be unable to enter into communication.

We shared our original letter and Mitchell’s reply with Jim and he decided to write his own letter to the CEO of CRUK in the hope that, as her reply had suggested, she might be willing to enter into communication with him.

With Jim’s consent, we share his letter here. We feel it speaks for itself. We will share and analyse Mitchell’s response in the coming days.

More to follow…

IN THE RACE 4 TRUTH, CANCER RESEARCH UK ARE LAGGING BEHIND.

OUR LETTER (DATED 7th JANUARY 2019) TO CRUK CEO MICHELLE MITCHELL

On Monday (15th April) we updated you as to why we had been posting so few articles recently.

After writing to Michelle Mitchell, Cancer Research UK’s new CEO, on 7th January we were hoping that a new era of honesty and integrity might dawn at the charity. Unfortunately this is not the case.

In the interests of transparency and clarity we will be sharing our letter and the correspondence which followed. We will also be analysing exactly what Mitchell and CRUK’s replies mean in terms of their honesty, integrity and, in Mitchell’s case, hypocrisy.

Today, we share what we wrote in the letter which opened the correspondence on 7th January. We feel it speaks for itself.

More to follow…

NEW CANCER RESEARCH UK CEO WILL CONTINUE THE HYPOCRISY OF HER PREDECESSOR

Here at the Race 4 Truth we have deliberately posted very few new articles over recent months. Why? Because we have been corresponding with Michelle Mitchell, Cancer Research UK’s new Chief Executive, in the hope that new leadership might see a desire to improve integrity and end the hypocrisy of her predecessor and of the current Chairman.

Having failed to get a satisfactory response, we passed the correspondence on to Jim Cowan who wrote his own letter to Mitchell. Rather than reply herself, she passed Jim’s letter to CRUK’s Complaints Manager, Graeme McCluskey, who eventually replied informing Jim that nothing would be changing.

We will be sharing these letters over the next couple of weeks and we will be analysing exactly what the contents of those letters tells us about the integrity of CRUK and its new leadership, along with the continued hypocrisy.

It is reasonable to suggest that hypocrisy continues to reign supreme as Mitchell, who was happy to accept an OBE in recognition of her own work and achievements, does not see fit to recognise the work and achievement of Jim Cowan in creating the Race for Life.

More to follow in the coming days.

In the Race 4 Truth, Cancer Research UK are lagging behind.

RACE FOR LIFE TWEET ASKS PEOPLE TO MAKE THEIR OWN SIGN – SO WE DID

The Race for Life’s Twitter feed is usually a place and half truths and lies by omission (such as the one which stated entering the Race for Life helps beat cancer, in the full knowledge that not a single penny of the entry fee supports research).

But we quite like the idea of being able to make your own Race for Life sign offered in a tweet on 12th February, and available on their website.

We like the idea so much, we used their template to make our own sign!

We hope you (and they) like it.

In theRace 4 Truth, Cancer Research UK are lagging behind.

CANCER RESEARCH UK CONTINUE TO HIDE FROM THE FACTS OVER RACE FOR LIFE

We have mentioned before how Cancer Research UK’s only defence to Race 4 Truth has been to offer no defence.

Now, unable to respond to to facts about themselves, they have taken the next step and simply blocked us from following their social media.

Cancer Research UK Events North West – @CRUKEventsNW – have blocked us from following and reading their tweets. 

We can only conclude that they do not like being pulled up on their half truths, fictions, hypocrisy and poor ethics.

In the Race 4 Truth, Cancer Research UK are lagging behind.

FOUNDER OF “WORLD’S MOST IMPORTANT RACE” CONTINUES TO GO UNRECOGNISED

In their own words, Cancer Research UK view the Race for Life as, the world’s most important race.”

Given the importance they give the event, you would think they would be happy to recognise the man who created the event. You would think they might even be grateful enough to say a simple, “thank you.”

But no.

Over the past quarter of a century since Jim Cowan created the Race for Life, Cancer Research UK have attempted to airbrush him from history with a highly unethical campaign of false stories, lies, suspected fraud, and more.

Whether it is the world’s most important race or not, surely it is time that Cancer Research UK acknowledged the man who created, giving him the long overdue credit he deserves.

In the Race 4 Truth, Cancer Research UK are lagging behind!

HAVE YOU HEARD THE ONE ABOUT THE £240,000 A YEAR ‘VOLUNTEER”……

Here at Race 4 Truth we had to have a small chuckle at this tweet from Cancer Research UK’s new CEO which proudly boasted that she had volunteered at the charity’s Winter Run 10k.

Given she is paid a salary of £240,000 a year, we figure that ‘volunteering’ for the odd event here and there is the least she should do!

Something else she could do is bring to an end a quarter of a century of lies, deceit and hypocrisy and ensure her organisation finally recognise Jim Cowan for creating the Race for Life.

In the Race 4 Truth, Cancer Research UK are lagging behind!

AMAZING! CANCER RESEARCH UK’S HYPOCRISY CONTINUES UNABATED

Without, it would appear, any sense of the hypocrisy in the announcement, Cancer Research UK’s new CEO (Michelle Mitchell) announced on Twitter (24th January) that it was “amazing to meet Grand Challenge winners…”

Ms Mitchell, being new to the organisation, maybe unaware of the institutionalised hypocrisy within and we hope that once she does become aware, she will act to address it.

But, yet again, Cancer Research UK publicly either recognise their own or accept recognition without giving similar (any) recognition to Jim Cowan, the man who created the Race for Life and who they have attempted to airbrush from history over the past quarter of a century.

Shame on them.

In the Race 4 Truth, Cancer Research UK are lagging behind!