Charity worker’s fury at minister over abuse cases

A FORMER aid worker accused Penny Mordaunt of silencing the victims of charity sex abuse yesterday as it emerged Oxfam and Save the Children still receive taxpayer cash.

Whistleblower Alexia Pepper de Caires interrupted a speech by the International Development Secretary to complain that victims were being ignored.

And she said she was ‘disgusted’ to learn Save the Children – her former employer – was to play a major role in establishing a new global system of criminal records checks for aid workers, even though it was still under investigation by the Charity Commission over sex abuse claims. Standing next to the minister on stage at a London conference, Miss Pepper de Caires said: ‘This is not your platform; this should be a platform for victims.’

Earlier this year Miss Mordaunt pledged neither charity would receive new funding because of the investigation. But she admitted the two have received money to help in the Indonesian tsunami because they are part of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), a group of 14 charities which received £2million of public money.

Miss Pepper de Caires describes herself on Twitter as ‘intersectional feminist jedi in training’.