BY KIRSTY WATT
A founding member of the John Muir Trust – a major landowner on Skye – has been expelled from the board of trustees after raising concerns about the charity’s governance.
Denis Mollison, former chair of the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust and the Mountain Bothies Association, is yet another person to be forced out of the Trust in what has become a three-year mass exodus.
The charity, which owns land at Strathaird and Sconser on Skye, have claimed Mr Mollison breached the Trustee Code of Conduct; after an unsuccessful appeal, he received notice of his removal earlier this month.
Mr Mollison is a founding member of the charity and spent 26 years as a trustee before stepping down in 2013. He was re-elected by members in September 2024, alongside Alison Russell, former chief finance officer of JMT, on a public manifesto raising concerns about allegations of multiple governance failures.
Prior to Mr Mollison’s re-election, the Trust’s chief executive David Balharry was suspended over “misconduct” allegations, but allowed back into his post after five months following an investigation; multiple trustees and senior staff have also resigned from the charity in the last three years and a serious financial deficit was uncovered which lead to mass redundancies.
In a statement regarding his alleged breach of conduct and subsequent dismissal, Mr Mollison said: “The supposed breach consisted of giving an interview to ‘The Times’ based on my trustee candidate statement, and giving a link on my personal web page to a report critical of the Trust leadership.
“The second charge related to consulting people on a major issue of accountability to members, namely the filling of trustee casual vacancies. On this, the leadership had already made a serious error of omission, by not filling four vacancies in 2024, and the chair was in 2025 proposing to leave two vacancies still unfilled, contrary to the Articles and past practice.
“To try to prevent this I consulted experts (past chairs and returning officers) on the general principle, not revealing anything in board papers; this was interpreted as a breach of confidentiality.”
Prior to Mr Mollison’s dismissal, Ms Russell was also dismissed over a breach of the code of conduct using a new section of Standing Orders which Mr Mollison claims was “pushed through” by the chair of the trustees, Jane Smallman, after it became known that Mr Mollison and Ms Russell had been re-elected, but before they took office.
Speaking to ‘Third Force News’, former chair of the JMT, John Hutchison, who played a central role in the community land buyouts at Knoydart and Eigg, said: “Despite a resounding vote of confidence by JMT members, Denis was treated as a pariah from day one by a clique around the chair and the CEO.
“Action to get rid of him and trustee Alison Russell, who had also raised concerns, began as soon as they were elected and before they took up office, with the chair rushing through a new paragraph of standing orders to make it easier to expel trustees who challenged her leadership.
“This treatment of a man who over many decades did more than anyone to build and develop the JMT is a travesty of democracy and a further stain on the good name of the charity.”
The JMT is currently under investigation by the independent charity regulator OSCR over the governance of the charity.
A spokesperson for the JMT told the Free Press: “The decision to remove Denis Mollison as a trustee was not taken lightly.
Following a report of a potential breach of the Code of Conduct, the board initiated an investigation in accordance with due process, including a formal hearing. The decision was then subject to an independent appeal process, which upheld the board’s decision.”
They added: “This matter does not impact our work and management at Strathaird and Sconser in any way. The Trust strives to deliver its charitable purpose to the highest standards of governance. Our focus remains on delivering our charitable purpose and on protecting wild places for everyone, now and for the future.”
