Backlash after boss says Oxfam being treated like it had 'murdered babies' over aid worker sex scandal

MPs criticise 'ill-judged' comments after Mark Goldring says attacks on charity 'out of proportion'

People walk past an Oxfam sign in Corail, a camp for people displaced after 2010 earthquake, on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, Haiti (Reuters)

Oxfam’s chief executive has been criticised by MPs for claiming the storm engulfing the charity over the aid worker sex scandal was “out of proportion”.

Mark Goldring faced a backlash after saying he struggled to comprehend the “the ferocity of the attack” on his organisation, which he suggested was being treated as though it had “murdered babies in their cots”.

He accused critics of “gunning” for the charity and being motivated in part by an anti-aid agenda.

In an interview with the The Guardian, Mr Goldring said: “The intensity and the ferocity of the attack makes you wonder, what did we do?

“We murdered babies in their cots? Certainly, the scale and the intensity of the attacks feels out of proportion to the level of culpability. I struggle to understand it. You think, ‘My God, there’s something going on there.’”

While Mr Goldring also apologised for Oxfam’s failings and admitted major reforms were needed, his remarks risked inflicting further damage on the charity and undermining its announcement on Friday of a wide-ranging action plan designed to root out abuse.

Stephen Twigg, Labour chair of the Commons International Development Committee, described the chief executive’s intervention as “ill-judged”.

Oxfam’s chief executive Mark Goldring leaves the Department for International Development in London this week (AFP/Getty Images) (AFP/Getty)

Conservative MP Paul Scully, who also sits on the committee, said Mr Goldring’s comments were “inappropriate” and unhelpful as the charity fights to regain public trust.

He told The Independent: “If he’s going to have a mea culpa he should just concentrate on getting it right rather than going down this strange line.

“Oxfam are clearly under the cosh but that’s because they’ve been found to be wanting. Allegations have been drip-feeding over the last week rather than them just being up front when this first broke.

“Clearly there’s something that’s been systemically wrong in the way that Oxfam approaches safeguarding issues. If we are going to have further taxpayers’ money going towards it and members of the public are going to be as generous as they have been, they need to have full trust in Oxfam.”

About Mr Goldring’s reference to “murdered babies”, Mr Scully added: “He must clearly feel under pressure but he just needs to concentrate on getting things right, rather than these inappropriate comparisons. They are very ill-judged.”

The committee is to hold an urgent evidence session to question Mr Goldring and Oxfam’s chair of trustees, Caroline Thomson, on Tuesday.

Some MPs have called for the charity’s chief executive to resign over the scandal.

Conservative MP Nigel Evans, who sits on the International Development Committee, told The Times the charity boss was “part of the problem”. He warned Oxfam was “facing obliteration” if it did not change.

Mr Scully stopped short of urging Mr Goldring to step down, but said: “Clearly it’s for his board of trustees to decide on his future, but reputationally they have got a lot to do to recover and I’m sure they’ll be taking that into account. Clearly they need the charity to regain trust and its reputation pretty quickly and they have got to take the appropriate action to do so.”

More than 1,200 regular direct debit donations to Oxfam were cancelled over last weekend after the charity was alleged to have covered up its aid workers’ sexual exploitation of earthquake victims in Haiti.

International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt announced on Friday that Oxfam would receive no further funding from the UK Government until ministers were satisfied the charity met the “high standards” expected.

Mr Goldring said the scandal threatened to have “substantial effect on public confidence, which would affect public donations,” and he expected some corporate partners would cut ties with the charity.

The charity chief said he had apologised to the Haitian ambassador on Thursday for the alleged behaviour of Oxfam’s aid workers and planned to visit the country to explore how to make amends.

On Friday Oxfam unveiled a wide-ranging reform plan as it sought to minimise reputational damage. The plan includes an independent commission, involving women’s rights experts, that will urgently review the charity’s culture and practices.