Government reviews work with Oxfam after sex allegations against staff in Haiti

'If wrongdoing, abuse, fraud or criminal activity occur we need to know about it immediately, in full'

The charity's staff were in the country in 2011, assisting relief efforts after a devastating earthquake (Getty)

The Government has announced it is reviewing all of its work with Oxfam, after the charity was accused of covering up the use of prostitutes by its aid workers in Haiti.

Oxfam said it had publicly announced an investigation into the allegations when they surfaced in 2011 and has denied a cover-up.

Oxfam’s staff had been on the Caribbean island as part of relief efforts, following the devastation 7.0 magnitude earthquake which killed more than 200,000 people in 2010.

Oxfam said four members of staff were dismissed, while three, including Roland van Hauwermeiren, who served as the country director for Haiti, were allowed to resign before the end of the investigation.

The Department for International Development (DFID) said the charity had “serious questions” to answer. Oxfam is a beneficiary of the DFID and received nearly £32m from the governmental department during the last financial year.

A DFID spokesman said: “We often work with organisations in chaotic and difficult circumstances. If wrongdoing, abuse, fraud or criminal activity occur we need to know about it immediately, in full.

“The way this appalling abuse of vulnerable people was dealt with raises serious questions that Oxfam must answer.”

They added: “We acknowledge that hundreds of Oxfam staff have done no wrong and work tirelessly for the people they serve, but the handling by the senior team about this investigation and their openness with us and the charity commission showed a lack of judgement. We have a zero tolerance policy for the type of activity that took place in this instance and we expect our partners to as well.

“The Secretary of State is reviewing our current work with Oxfam and has requested a meeting with the senior team at the earliest opportunity.”

A Downing Street spokesperson said: “The reports of what is unacceptable behaviour by senior aid workers in Haiti are truly shocking.

“Charities should have robust systems in place to ensure the highest standards of transparency and safeguarding procedures to protect vulnerable people – and ultimately must maintain public trust.

“We want to see Oxfam provide all the evidence they hold of the events to the Charity Commission for full and urgent investigation of these very serious allegations.”

Oxfam chief executive Mark Goldring told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that any references given to staff involved in the scandal, who later found other jobs, had not been officially sanctioned.

He said: “When the staff involved resigned in 2011, all were fired, Oxfam was very clear that we would not give them references. We recorded that on our own system, and we wrote to all of our offices across the world.

“But, there is a real difference between an organisation giving a reference and individuals that have previously worked for an organisation giving references in individual capacities, and that’s what we believe will have happened.”

Mr Goldring denied a cover-up, he said: “With hindsight, I would much prefer that we had talked about sexual misconduct, but I don’t think it was in anyone’s best interest to be describing the details of the behaviour in a way that was was actually going to draw extreme attention to it.”

Additional reporting by PA