British businessman killed in Sydney plane crash 'leaves £41 million fortune to Oxfam after changing will'

Richard Cousins, the highly-regarded head of catering giant Compass who was killed in a plane crash, reportedly left £41 million to Oxfam in a recently updated will. 

The 58-year-old tycoon died in a seaplane crash near Sydney on New Year's Eve, along with his two sons, fiancée Emma Bowden, and her daughter while on a dream holiday to Australia.

Mr Cousins reportedly originally planned to leave his wealth to his sons William, 25, and Edward, 23. However, a year before the tragedy in Australia he drew up a new will, inserting a “common tragedy clause” that would come into force if he and his sons were all killed together, the Sun reported.

When tragedy struck, the main beneficiary was Oxfam, reportedly receiving all but £3 million of his fortune. His brother, Simon and Andrew, were left £1 million each, the newspaper reported. 

"It’s the kind of bequest charities dream of. There will rightly be heavy scrutiny of how the money is spent," a source told the paper. 

Oxfam has yet to respond to the Telegraph's request for comment. 

The large bequest comes as Oxfam reels from a sex scandal that has roiled the charity sector. 

Oxfam GB has been struggling to win back the confidence of the public, the UK government and its donors following allegations that members of its staff used sex workers during a relief mission after an earthquake hit Haiti in 2010.

It emerged in June that the charity is cutting back some of its overseas aid programmes after warning staff it needs to find £16 million of savings due to the fallout from the controversy.

Mr Cousins had been due to step down as chief executive of the company in March after more than a decade in the role. 

He and Ms Bowden, who was the art editor for OK! magazine and daughter of Conservative MP Gerry Bowden, were to get married this summer. 

The couple, who had sent out their wedding invitations just days before flying off on their Christmas and New Year holiday, lived together with Heather in a leafy part of Tooting, South London.

Last year, legacy income accounted for £2.8 billion of the nearly £10 billion donated by the British public to charitable causes, making it the largest single source of voluntary income to the charity sector.