Naomi Campbell has claimed a fake email was used to impersonate her at her charity hit with a ban by the watchdog last year.

The supermodel, 54, is appealing against her five-year ban as a trustee for Fashion for Relief, which she founded in 2005 to merge fashion and philanthropy, after the Charity Commission found serious mismanagement of funds.

It was claimed last year that the charity passed on only a small fraction of the millions it raised for good causes and that funds were used to pay for Campbell’s spa treatments, personal security, room service, cigarettes and hotel stays in Cannes, in the south of France.

At the time, the supermodel said she was “extremely concerned” by the regulator’s findings, adding that she was “not in control of my charity” having “put the control in the hands of a lawyer”.

Now, she has won her attempt to appeal against the ban, arguing that evidence was found that a false email address was used to impersonate her in communications with lawyers.