Kids Company paid the London School of Economics ?40,000 to cover the costs of a report that heaped praise on the now defunct children¡¯s charity and Camila Batmanghelidjh, its chief executive.

The study, Kids Company: a diagnosis of the organisation and its interventions, has been cited by Ms Batmanghelidjh as evidence that Kids Company provided good value for money and was well managed.

The , published in September 2013, and other studies are part of a ¡°collage¡± of research projects that provided an overview of the charity¡¯s work, Ms Batmanghelidjh told BBC Radio 4¡¯s The Report, broadcast on 6 August.

But have asked how the LSE and other organisations missed many of the problems highlighted by civil servants concerned about the charity¡¯s use of public funding, which amounts to a reported ?37 million over the course of its 19-year existence.

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In the first line of the preface to the LSE report, principal investigator Sandra Jovchelovitch, professor of social psychology, describes how, on first meeting Ms Batmanghelidjh in 2007, she was ¡°immediately struck by the beauty and profound truth of her simple message: children recover with unconditional and unrelenting love¡±.

Ms Batmanghelidjh is also described in the report,?by a six-strong team from the department of social psychology,?as a ¡°mother figure and role model¡±, and as an ¡°exceptional¡± and ¡°emotional, highly-capable¡± leader with ¡°skills and unique qualities¡±.

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Some media critics have claimed that celebrities, donors and the prime minister were ¡°mesmerised¡± by the high-profile chief executive.

The report, which bears the logos of both the LSE and Kids Company, does not disclose that the charity provided funding for the report. When contacted by ³ÉÈËVRÊÓƵ, the LSE said that Kids Company had paid ?39,537 in funding for the report and for a day-long conference.

The LSE team said in their report that they ¡°studied how Kids Company operates and engages clients, statutory services and society¡±, in particular its use of ¡°psychosocial scaffolding¡±, therapy and support available to staff, clients and their families alike.

The report repeats Kids Company's claim that ¡°its services reach 36,000 children, young people and their families¡± ¨C a hotly contested during the charity¡¯s demise.

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Based solely on interviews with staff and volunteers, the study concludes that Kids Company offers ¡°lessons for policy-makers, the statutory sector and society in general¡±.

An LSE spokesman said that the report was ¡°not an audit of Kids Company finances or management practices¡±, but ¡°analysed the model of intervention and care by the charity¡± with? a ¡°particular focus on the psychological impact of Kids Company¡¯s approach¡±.

Professor Jovchelovitch could not be contacted for comment.

Stephen Briggs, professor of social work at the University of East London, who undertook a study of Kids Company¡¯s in 2013, and a ?30,000 Department for Education-funded qualitative study of 29 clients, said that his reports did not look at financial management and funding, the main causes of the charity¡¯s demise.

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¡°I was not mesmerised by Camila, but found her to be a very devoted and charismatic person,¡± said Professor Briggs.

¡°However, behind that I was focused on a high-quality social care model, which was very robust, innovative and effective [and] that should be produced elsewhere,¡± he added.

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jack.grove@tesglobal.com