A grotesque betrayal of a noble cause

IT was quite simply a shameful cover-up.

In July 2011, a whistleblower told Oxfam’s senior management that several aid workers providing relief after the Haiti earthquake were holding orgies with prostitutes at their charity- funded accommodation. An investigation exposed a ‘ culture of impunity’ and suggested some of the women involved may have been underage.

But instead of owning up to this sordid scandal, Oxfam cynically swept it under the carpet. A misleading announcement made vague reference to ‘misconduct’ to explain a handful of sackings, while several staff were allowed to resign quietly – including a ‘dignified’ exit for the Haiti director with a positive reference.

To protect its reputation and the jobs of executives – and to keep the tide of foreign aid cash washing in – regulators were told half-truths and the public kept in the dark.

Thus Oxfam was guilty of a grotesque betrayal. It betrayed the victims of the disaster who it was meant to be helping. It betrayed the founding Christian principles of an organisation set up by Quakers during the Second World War to combat famine. But most of all it betrayed the millions of small donors and fundraisers who trust their money will be used wisely.

Yet its former chief executive, Dame Barbara Stocking – who now runs a college at Cambridge University (where else?) – continues to deny any cover-up. Days late, Oxfam finally issued a grovelling apology yesterday, after International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt rightly threatened to turn off the foreign aid taps.

Caught up in the charity fundraising scandal and guilty of spreading risible hardLeft rhetoric to criticise the free market (while paying its chief executive £127,000 a year), Oxfam needs to ask how its reputation has fallen so far, so fast.