Oxfam executives 'deliberately misled' regulators and 'betrayed public' over Haiti sex scandal

Oxfam executives "betrayed the public" and may have deliberately misled charity regulators and the authorities, the International Development Secretary has said. 

Penny Mordaunt, the International Development Secretary, accused the charity's former chief executive and president of putting Oxfam's reputation ahead of the people that they were supposed to be helping.

She also warned that Britain could withdraw funding for the United Nations unless it stops exploitation and abuse.

Oxfam yesterday revealed that it has has received 26 new allegations of sexual misconduct and 7,000 donors have cancelled their subscriptions in the fortnight since the Haiti sex scandal emerged.

A total of 16 alleged incidents took place in countries where Oxfam ran aid operations, seven in high street charity shops in the UK and three from “other UK-based divisions".

The cases range from 1995 to the present. Mark Goldring, the chief executive at Oxfam GB, yesterday apologised to the committee for the actions of some Oxfam staff who sexually exploited young Haitian woman and for an interview last week in which he appeared to downplay the gravity of the scandal. 

He said that he had been stressed when he claimed that the "ferocity" of the attacks on Oxfam made it seem as if staff had "murdered babies in their cots". He also apologised for saying that he made the comments after six nights without sleep.

He said: “I repeat Oxfam’s broader apology and my personal apology. I am sorry, we are sorry, for the damage Oxfam has done both to the people of Haiti but also to wider efforts for aid and development by possibly undermining public support.”

As well as donors who have cancelled their subscriptions, Mr Goldring also disclosed that corporate sponsors are considering whether to continue giving Oxfam money.

Pauline Latham, a Tory member of the committee, questioned whether he was the “right person for the job” after he failed to look into allegations that staff had paid prostitutes in Haiti when he was appointed in 2013.

She said that some Oxfam staff had treated women and girls in Haiti if they were “trinkets and you can pay for them”. Mr Goldring said that Oxfam should have referred the incidents to the authorities in Haiti, and also admitted that the charity should have made them public at the time.

He disclosed that Oxfam had given Roland van Hauwermeiren, the charity’s former director of operations in Haiti, a reference which omitted the fact he had used prostitutes.

He subsequently went on to work for another charity. Matthew Rycroft, the Permanent Secretary at the Department for International Trade and Development, said that Oxfam aid scandal has undermined public support for foreign aid spending.

In the Commons Ms Mordaunt She singled out Dame Barbara Stocking, the former chief executive of Oxfam, and Penny Lawrence, the former Deputy Chief Executive of the charity, on the floor of the Commons.

She said: "They did not provide a full report to the Charity Commission, they did not provide a full report to their donors, they did not provide a full report to prosecutors. In my view they misled, quite possibly deliberately. 

"They did not think it was necessary to report this to the police. I believe their motivation appears to be the protection of their organisation’s reputation. A complete betrayal of trust. A betrayal of those people who sent them there."

Ms Lawrence resigned earlier this month as Oxfam's Deputy Chief Executive earlier this month, saying that she was "ashamed" and that she took "full responsibility".

Dame Barbara has denied trying to cover up the Haiti sex scandal by highlighting a press release put out by Oxfam at the time. The release did not disclose that sexual misconduct was involved. "This was not a secret," she said.

Commenting on the scandal the Most Rev Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, said the Church is not in a position to "throw stones" at others over abuse.