Daily Mail

Scandal risks loss of £48m EU cash

- By Mario Ledwith Brussels Correspond­ent

Oxfam could lose tens of millions of pounds in EU funding if bosses are found to have broken ethics rules.

The European Commission said it had begun an urgent investigat­ion into whether any of its funds were linked to allegation­s that charity workers in Haiti threw sex parties and used prostitute­s.

Officials said that they would take a ‘zero tolerance’ approach and dozens of programmes could be overhauled if they are found to be tainted by the controvers­y.

The probe from one of Oxfam’s biggest financial contributo­rs could prove hugely damaging, with the bloc sending the charity £47.5million last year.

Internatio­nal Developmen­t Secretary Penny mordaunt has warned that the allegation­s will put the charity’s £32million-a-year UK aid funding at risk. The minister also promised to use an internatio­nal summit this week to demand that both donors and charities boost efforts to challenge sexual harassment.

another of Oxfam’s leading donors yesterday threatened a funding revolt if questions about the scandal are not answered.

Innocent Smoothies, one of Oxfam’s leading corporate backing ers, yesterday said it would stop donating unless the charity guarantees that the same mistakes will not be repeated.

Richard Reed, the millionair­e cofounder of the juice firm, described the scandal as Oxfam’s ‘ darkest hour’ and said the company’s annual donation of around £100,000 could be at stake.

‘as a corporate sponsor, we would want to see a very, very clear comprehens­ive plan for how this could not ever happen again,’ he said. ‘If these actions turn out to be true, then of course we would revisit it [the funding]. Because you’re giving money to do good. You’re not giving money to do these other things.’

Speaking to the Emma Barnett Show on BBC Radio 5, mr Reed said he could think of ‘no organisati­on that will be more committed to making sure that they learn from this’.

But he added: ‘If these allegation­s prove to be true, the actions are dreadful. I mean everyone will be completely united in that. It’s the exact opposite of what Oxfam stands for as an organisati­on. We would always give them a fair hear- because everyone’s entitled to that in a situation like this.’

The EU investigat­ion yesterday centred on its award of £1.5million to Oxfam projects in Haiti during 2011, when the alleged abuses took place. Oxfam’s British arm received £29.3million from the European Commission in the 2016/2017 financial year, from a total budget of £408.6million.

EU records show that the UK branch received cash for 22 different programmes in 2016, including £8.9million to improve food security in two states in northern Nigeria.

Other projects included humanitari­an relief in Sudan and the irrigation systems used in farming in the Gaza Strip.

a spokesman said yesterday: ‘ The European Commission expects its partners to abide by strict ethics and profession­al codes of conduct and principles.

‘ We take a zero tolerance approach to any allegation­s of misconduct by organisati­ons that receive our funding.

‘In this specific case, we expect Oxfam to fully clarify delegation­s with maximum transparen­cy as a matter of urgency.’

The spokesman said they were collecting informatio­n about the charity’s operations in Haiti and whether Oxfam staff were paid using any EU funds.

The spokesman added: ‘ We are ready to review and cease funding to any partner who is not living up to the high ethical standards.’

‘Giving money to do good’

 ??  ?? Threat: A smoothie made by Oxfam donor Innocent
Threat: A smoothie made by Oxfam donor Innocent

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