ScotlandConfirmed
Lord Braid's opinion of 20 August 2026 covers three petitions that reached Scotland's highest civil court within about two weeks. In two, brought by Greater Glasgow Health Board, Jehovah's Witness parents had refused blood; the court authorised a transfusion only if the treating clinician judged it necessary to avoid serious harm including death. The third, from Borders Health Board, records no religious objection: parents who prefer natural remedies refused a tetanus jab after the family dog bit their daughter. The judge recorded that all three sets of parents were “loving parents.”
· August 20, 2026 · 18 min read
SafeguardingConfirmed
A 2017 Charity Commission inquiry into the Manchester New Moston congregation found trustees mishandled abuse allegations — including an internal hearing where victims were questioned by the man they accused.
· July 26, 2017 · 2 min read
RulingConfirmed
The Court of Appeal refused to quash the Charity Commission's inquiry into how the Jehovah's Witnesses' British charity handles abuse allegations — the next-to-last round of a fight the Watch Tower would ultimately lose.
· March 15, 2016 · 2 min read
RulingConfirmed
In December 2014 the High Court declined Watch Tower's bid to halt the Charity Commission inquiry, ruling only that the charity had to use the specialist tribunal first — not that the inquiry was lawful.
· December 12, 2014 · 2 min read
SafeguardingConfirmed
In May 2014 the Charity Commission launched a statutory inquiry into how the Watch Tower's British arm handles child protection — the start of a legal fight that would run for nearly a decade.
· May 27, 2014 · 2 min read