Boss of Save the Children in showdown with his staff
He apologises for charity’s sex pest scandal – but refuses to go
THE Save The Children boss under fire over the charity’s sex pest scandal was heavily criticised at a showdown with angry staff yesterday.
Chief executive Kevin Watkins admitted the charity’s failure to take firm action against former bosses Justin Forsyth and Brendan Cox for harassing female employees made the women’s ordeal more ‘painful’.
He also acknowledged there were workers – including some from ethnic- minority backgrounds – who still felt ‘their face didn’t fit’ at Save The Children UK (STCUK), according to a leaked recording of the crisis meeting obtained by the Daily Mail.
Mr Watkins, 64, was put in the dock by employees at its London HQ following a devastating report by the Charity Commission. The watchdog highlighted the fact that he was a trustee when STCUK was accused of letting Mr Forsyth and Mr Cox off the hook by mismanaging complaints against them between 2012 and 2015.
Mr Forsyth was accused of sending ‘unsuitable’ texts to female staff. Mr Cox, widower of murdered Labour MP Jo Cox, was accused of demanding sex from one. When Mr Watkins was asked whether he planned to quit, he replied: ‘No. I have no intention of resigning.
‘I love this organisation. We achieve unbelievably important things. It is a mission I am 100 per cent committed to and I want to make it better.’
Referring to the Charity Commission report, he said it was a shock to ‘lift up the bonnet of the culture of an organisation and see stuff you hadn’t expected and don’t like the look of’. A female employee accused him of trying to excuse Mr Cox and Mr Forsyth by blaming ‘the culture of the organisation’ for allegations against them.
She said: ‘Using the word “culture” removes any accountability for the actions of the two perpetrators of the harassment and the mismanagement of the investigation.’
Another staff member lambasted Mr Watkins for how the charity spent £114,000 on lawyers in an ‘aggressive’ bid to stop the media exposing the scandal. Mr Watkins said: ‘We didn’t do the right thing.
‘We were too defensive and ended up using too many lawyers when it wasn’t necessary. Even more seriously, we hurt the women who had already been victims of the actions we were investigating.’
Staff claimed junior colleagues who raised issues were discriminated against, and ‘psychological barriers’ made it impossible for staff to complain.
Referring to BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic) staff, Mr Watkins said: ‘If you have a culture where it becomes OK to send offensive texts in the knowledge that you won’t be put through process... you feel you can’t complain to your line manager because you are BAME, that is culture. A lot of people are left feeling that their face doesn’t fit.
‘ Let’s be honest... cultural change is about getting a handle on real feelings of disrespect and the concern many people feel at not being valued. Everyone, when they are under pressure, sometimes behaves in ways we shouldn’t behave.’
Pointing the finger of blame directly at Mr Forsyth and Mr Cox, he said: ‘The reason we ended up where we did was because of the actions of two senior executives who were responsible for sexual harassment and the abuse of power.’
STCUK chairman Charles Steel said its board wanted him to stay. But ex-employee Alexia Pepper de Caires told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘We cannot expect people who were part of the problem to reform an organisation.’
Referring to Mr Watkins, she added: ‘It is untenable that he remains at the top of an organisation that has the reach and power Save The Children has.
‘If they want to be serious about zero tolerance of sexual harassment and misconduct it needs to start in their London office – it needs to start with the resignation of the CEO.’
‘Tarnished’ Save the Children boss faces calls to quit From yesterday’s Mail