Kids Company psychologist admits taking Class A drug at nightclub while with two clients

But she denies taking the Class A drug in front of one of the young people, known only as client C, in the toilet cubicle at the club and then giving her some.

Although she admitted using drugs “on several occasions” during her leisure time, testing positive for cocaine, and letting the vulnerable young people, known only as clients C and D, stay at her flat.

Dr Winter admitted that she was guilty of misconduct and that her fitness to practise is impaired, at the hearing at the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPS) in London.

The case is the latest in a series of damaging allegations made against Kids Company, which closed last year following claims it misspent public money.

The charity, which is now under the control of administrators, is also being investigated by police from the complex case team of the Met’s Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command.

Dr Winter took MDMA with a colleague, teacher Nicci Shall, on the night out at Hidden club in Vauxhall, south London, on 24 January 2014.

The pair had met while working at the Urban Academy, a pupil referral unit run by Kids Company in Southwark, south London.

Recalling the night in question, Ms Shall said she had been drinking wine and Jaegerbomb shots in the pub from 4pm when she and Dr Winter decided to carry the night on at Hidden.

She told how they bought some MDMA which they took in the toilet at the club, and later saw clients C and D, who were both in their early 20s, in the same club.

Later Ms Shall went to a toilet cubicle with Dr Winter and client C, a woman who she taught at the academy. There Ms Shall claims she watched the pair take drugs.

She told the hearing: “Helen Winter offered client C and me a dab of MDMA which I declined. Helen Winter and client C consumed the MDMA.”

Ms Shall said that after she left the club she felt “awful” about what she had witnessed and wanted to tell her boss, but was persuaded not to.

She said Dr Winter told her the clients had “had a good time and nothing had come of it”. In a series of texts she told Dr Winter how awful she felt. In one she wrote: “I can’t believe what we did.”

Ms Shall said she felt appalled at the incident and turned to her mentor at Kids Company for advice, but they told her not to take the matter further.

She told the hearing: “I stupidly followed their advice and I regret that.”

She later added: “I contacted someone who had been acting as my mentor at Urban Academy. I was looking for guidance.

“They said you shouldn’t say anything and I shouldn’t take it any further. I really regret taking their advice.”

Ms Shall said her mentor reiterated this to her several times over the following months.

They revisited the issue in May 2014 after she heard from another colleague that Dr Winter let client C stay at her home, and it was then that she decided to report the matter to the charity’s chief executive, Camila Batmanghelidjh.

She told the hearing: “I turned to my mentor again and mentioned about the staying over and he said I needed to go straight to Camila and not my local manager because she didn’t think they were competent to deal with this.”

Ms Shall said it took months for her to pluck up the courage to alert her bosses because she didn’t want to “betray” Dr Winter.

She was interviewed for an internal investigation, but raised concerns about the accuracy of the report.

Dr Winter broke down in tears and had to take a break from the disciplinary hearing. She sobbed and had to be handed a tissue as she left the room with her lawyer.

The case was adjourned until 9.30am on Friday morning, when Dr Winter is expected to give evidence.

The panel had earlier been told that clients C and D were not being called as witnesses as “it’s not been possible to contact them since the disbandment of Kids Company”.