BAFTA Chair Says Trustees May Have Breached Law Over Free Guest Tickets
Michael Pritchett, chair of BAFTA's membership council, told members at the academy's annual general meeting that trustees may have breached charity and company law by accepting free tickets for guests at awards ceremonies, according to The Guardian.
Trustees are the volunteers who sit on the board of a charity and oversee its affairs. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is registered with the Charity Commission, the body that keeps the register of charities. Pritchett said legal advice he had obtained at his own expense suggested that offences could have been committed by trustees who approved the charity's accounts.
Pritchett claimed that trustees had received complimentary tickets for themselves and a guest at the film, television and games awards, potentially for as long as 20 years. He said the guest seats were top-table places, and that a second ticket at the film awards sold for £2,000.
BAFTA's governing document states that trustees may not receive remuneration or other benefits from the academy. The academy's 2024 and 2025 accounts said that no trustees had received remuneration, and its public register said trustees received no remuneration, payments or benefits. Pritchett said benefits of this kind were likely to have been taxable since 2016, and that national insurance contributions could potentially be payable by BAFTA.
A BAFTA spokesperson said trustees are invited to attend events in a working capacity, representing the academy in an ambassadorial role. Before 2025, the spokesperson said, trustees could also bring a "plus one" guest. In 2025 the board decided to end the practice of giving trustees a guest ticket to ceremonies, following a recommendation from its governance committee. The academy also set up an independent review group to consider the historic arrangement, and that review is under way.
Sara Putt is BAFTA's outgoing chair. Pritchett told members that the academy had received £4.7m in membership fees the previous year.
