Oxfam boss admits charity should have been more open about allegations of sexual abuse

The chief executive of Oxfam has admitted the charity should have been more open about allegations of sexual abuse by staff.

In stark contrast to an interview published on Saturday – in which he dismissed some criticism as “out of proportion” – Mark Goldring conceded that the charity had to “win back the trust” of supporters.

In a column published in the Sunday Mirror, he said: "We are sorry for the mistakes we have made. We should have been more open with the public about the fact that staff in Haiti were fired for sexual abuse. And we should have expanded our safeguarding team faster."

He added: "As an organisation that fights for women's rights, the abuse of women in Oxfam's name is particularly hard to bear."

The charity has been rocked by accusations it had covered up claims that staff used prostitutes while delivering aid in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake.

Mr Goldring will be hauled before MPs to answer questions about Oxfam's aid work on the Caribbean island, parts of which were devastated by the quake.

On Friday, he had struck a different tone, telling the Guardian he felt anti-aid critics were "gunning" for his organisation and suggested no-one had "murdered babies in their cots".

The head of Oxfam International described the damning sexual exploitation allegations its faces as a "stain" on the charity "that will shame us for years" as she announced plans to try to stamp out abuse in the organisation.

Executive director Winnie Byanyima promised to root out any wrongdoing at the charity and provide justice for anyone abused by its staff.

Mr Goldring echoed this, writing: "We know we need to learn and change. And we will listen every step of the way.

"We have made big improvements since 2011 including setting up a confidential whistleblowing hotline but we know this is not enough. This week we have begun a plan of action to make sure we do everything we can to ensure that sexual exploitation doesn't happen under our watch.

"It is the generosity of the British people that has enabled us to grow and reach more and more people. We must win back their trust so that we can continue to deliver Oxfam's work which helped 11.6 million people last year."

The Charity Commission said its new taskforce would ensure any gaps in serious incident reports across the sector were filled and that it would "intervene in serious cases where the Commission is concerned that trustees are not fulfilling their legal duties".