Charity blames Rowling ‘bitch’ tweet on hackers

A charity linked to a tweet calling JK Rowling a ‘bitch’ after she donated £1m to the No to Scottish independence campaign has said its account was hacked.

The Harry Potter author pledged her support for the Better Together camp on Wednesday and wrote a blog post detailing the “serious risks” of independence.

Her donation is by far the biggest yet for the pro-union campaign, while Yes Scotland has benefited from £2.5m from Colin and Chris Weir, who won £161m in the EuroMillions lottery in 2011.

Criticism of the author quickly flooded in on Twitter, with one tweet from Edinburgh-based charity the Dignity Project reading: “What a #bitch after we gave her shelter in our city when she was a single mum.”

However the Dignity Project, which describes itself as an African Child Education Programme, said it was not behind the tweet.

A disclaimer on its website stated: “The Dignity Project has had its Twitter account hacked. We are not responsible for any tweets that have been sent.

“As a charity we do not take any political stance and our opinion is people are free to donate to whoever they choose.

“To the people who hacked our account if helping African children to thrive and survive including single mums is a bad thing that is their problem.”

The Scottish Charity Regulator said that it will be making “urgent inquiries” into the matter and seeking further information from the charity trustees.

Rowling, who lives in Edinburgh, has written about her views on her website, highlighting her concerns about the economy and medical research.

She said that, while she is “no fan of the current Westminster Government”, she has concerns about the economic risks of independence.