JK Rowling resigns as MS Society patron

JK Rowlinghas resigned as patron of the MS Society Scotland claiming that executives in London are making demands on the Scottish charity that are tearing the organisation apart and changing it “beyond recognition.”

The Harry Potter author, whose mother Anne died in 1990 following a lengthy battle with multiple sclerosis, has been a long-term supporter of the charity but said that internal bickering within the organisation has left staff feeling dejected and forced a number of people dedicated to the charity to resign.

“I have now reluctantly decided that I cannot, in good conscience, continue to be the public face of a charity that is changing beyond recognition from the one with which I have been so proud to be associated, “ she said in a statement.

However, the 43-year-old writer, who was named as the twelfth richest woman in Britain in last year’s Sunday Times Rich List, said that she will continue to financially support a research project at Edinburgh University which she helped to kick-start in 2006 after making a “major” undisclosed cash donation.

A spokesman for the MS Society Scotland – the country has the highest rates of multiple sclerosis in the world – said the society was in the middle of a governance review. “We would have preferred to do this with JK Rowling’s involvement, but we appreciate that significant change can be difficult”, he said.