​MPs grilled Kids Company founder Camila Batmanghelidjh and the charity’s chairman Alan Yentob for three hours on Thursday

Kids Company founder Camila Batmanghelidjh has been slammed for her appearance in front of the House of Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee.

In a three hour grilling from MPs Batmanghelidjh, who attended alongside Kids Company chairman Alan Yentob, was accused of talking "psychobabble" and delivering a “torrent of verbal ectoplasm”.

Both Batmanghelidjh and Yentob, the BBC’s creative director, refused to accept blame for the collapse of the charity just days after it was given a £3 million government grant.

Instead Batmanghelidjh claimed "malicious" civil servants brought down the charity by leaking details of an investigation into historical sexual abuse at the charity.

Their actions, or lack of them, have caused serious and potentially lasting harm to how the third sector is perceived by the public, the media and the political establishment

John Downie

Yentob agreed it became impossible for the charity to operate and accept donations after the investigation was revealed.

Both said they didn’t suspect the cabinet office was the source of the abuse allegations but Batmanghelidjh said she was “suspicious” the story got out just hours after a £3 million government grant had landed in their account.

"Only our finance person and the Cabinet Office knew that the money had hit our account. Suddenly out of the blue we get allegations that we don't even know relate to sexual abuse,” she said.

"Within hours, it was all over the BBC and news outlets that these related to allegedly sexual abuse against children by Kids Company. That was the kiss of death for a charity dealing with children.”

During the proceedings, which often became heated, one frustrated MP accused Batmanghelidjh of talking "psychobabble" and delivering a “torrent of verbal ectoplasm”.

Committee chairman Bernard Jenkin also reminded her it “is a contempt of parliament to mislead this committee”.

She did however admit the charity gave out cash in envelopes as “poverty intervention payments” and that some of the charity’s records have not been handed over to local authorities since the collapse.

Yentob claimed since the charity had closed there had been four suicide attempts, stabbings and a murder of a young boy who was using its services.

He said it was related to "the absence of a place for these children to go".

However, Jenkin’s said that he had been informed it was because "desperate kids no longer had money to pay their drug pushers".

Speaking after the hearing the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations director of public affairs, John Downie described Batmanghelidjh and Yentob’s performances as “beyond embarrassing”.

He said they tried and utterly failed to justify any semblance of effective management and good governance.

“The charity had to close because of an array of oversights: budget deficits, a lack of reserves, overstating the number of its clients, giving out large sums of money to kids without having any say on how it would be spent … I could go on,” he added.

“Their actions, or lack of them, have caused serious and potentially lasting harm to the way the third sector is perceived by the public, the media and the political establishment.”

The committee hearing was only one of a number of investigations Kids Company is undergoing.

A police investigation is still being carried out as are investigations by the National Audit Office and the Charity Commission.