Oxfam boss apologises saying he is 'deeply ashamed' of charity's behaviour as watchdog reveals it wasn't given 'full details' about use of prostitutes by aid workers in Haiti

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Oxfam chief executive Mark Goldring (pictured) apologised today and said he was 'deeply ashamed of Oxfam's behaviour

An Oxfam boss has apologised for the charity's behaviour after a watchdog revealed it wasn't given full details about the use of prostitutes by aid workers in Haiti.

Alleged misconduct by former charity workers included the use of prostitutes, downloading pornography, bullying and intimidation, according to an investigation by The Times.

Oxfam chief executive Mark Goldring apologised today and said he was 'deeply ashamed of Oxfam's behaviour,' according to Sky News.

He added: 'Everybody - the 25,000 staff and volunteers - are compromised by this, the hundreds of thousands of people who support Oxfam every month are compromised by this, and to everybody I apologise.

'What I'm apologising for is that nine Oxfam staff behaved in a way that was totally unacceptable and contrary to our values, and that led much more responsible staff to make decisions which are now seen by some as being marginal or inappropriate.

The boss then refused to apologise for the fact the charity continues to do work in Haiti.  

Oxfam Director Roland van Hauwermeiren (pictured) admitted using prostitutes in the wake of the Haitoan earthquake but was not part of the 'Caligula' claims

It comes after it emerged the Oxfam failed to share information with other organisations about the misconduct of their former employees.

Disgraced Roland van Hauwermeiren, 68, admitted to having sex with vulnerable prostitutes at his Oxfam villa in the poverty-stricken country of Haiti where he was based as country director.

But the charity decided to allow Mr Van Hauwermeiren to step down from his position and crucially didn't share details of the termination of contract with his new employer. 

The married 68-year-old went on to become head of mission for Action Against Hunger who told MailOnline it had 'no idea' about his background.

Three Oxfam employees were allowed to resign and four were sacked for gross misconduct after an internal investigation found some workers had used prostitutes in the war-torn region (file photo)

The French charity made pre-employment checks but Oxfam did not provide any warning about his 'unethical conduct'.  

A spokesman said: 'We received positive references from former Oxfam staff who worked with him, among them a (former) HR person.'

Mr Van Hauwermeiren led campaigns for them in Bangladesh between 2012-14 but did not renew his contract after the two years.

His current whereabouts is unknown, the spokesman said. 

The Prime Minister Theresa May called for a 'full and urgent investigation' shortly before it was announced the Government would review its relationship with Oxfam.   

Oxfam said it had publicly announced an investigation into the allegations when they surfaced in 2011 and kept the Charity Commission informed. 

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.

The former director in the country was also accused of inviting prostitutes to his flat rented by Oxfam, according to a leaked report (file photo)

'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 judgment.

'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.'

Oxfam said in a statement: 'The behaviour of some members of Oxfam staff uncovered in Haiti in 2011 was totally unacceptable, contrary to our values and the high standards we expect of our staff.

'As soon as we became aware of the allegations, we immediately launched an internal investigation.

'Our primary aim was always to root out and take action against those involved, and we publicly announced, including to media, both the investigation and the action we took as a result.'

Four members of staff were dismissed and three, including the country director, resigned before the end of the investigation, Oxfam said.

The charity added that the Charity Commission was aware the investigation related to 'inappropriate sexual behaviour' and confirmed that it had taken 'appropriate action'.

The revelations have been condemned by former international development secretaries.

Priti Patel told the Daily Telegraph: 'There should be prosecutions and appropriate action against everyone complicit in this.

'I think taxpayers will be appalled aid money may have been used in such an awful way.'

Andrew Mitchell, who served between 2010 and 2012, told the BBC: 'This is a shudderingly awful tale.

'Terrible on every single level. DfID must be sure that there is zero tolerance for this sort of thing.'

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.' 

An investigation carried out by The Times revealed three Oxfam employees were allowed to resign and four were sacked for gross misconduct after an internal investigation found some workers had used prostitutes in the war-torn region.

One source told the paper employees organised a 'full-on Caligula orgy' filled with girls dressed in Oxfam T-shirts.

They claimed staff had recorded videos of the night, but Oxfam said no recording had been submitted to the investigation.

Even though some of the employees who contacted the Times said they were concerned aid workers had sex with under-age girls. The report found the claim could not be ruled out.

In early August 2011, it was reported a 'small number' of employees were being investigated over allegations of gross misconduct. 

Other Oxfam workers, not thought to be British, left as a result of the investigation.  

The Haitian earthquake, which hit the capital Port-au-Prince in 2010, killed 220,000 and injured 300,000.

In the first wave of humanitarian aid after the earthquake, Oxfam helped around 700,000 people in the Caribbean country. 

A Charity Commission spokesman said yesterday: 'In August 2011, Oxfam made a report to the Commission about an ongoing internal investigation into allegations of misconduct by staff members involved in their Haiti programme.

The report explained that the misconduct related to inappropriate sexual behaviour, bullying, harassment and the intimidation of staff.

The report did not detail the precise allegations, nor did it make any indication of potential sexual crimes involving minors. However, the charity's internal investigation was still ongoing.

'We are currently engaged with the charity regarding its approach to safeguarding following more recent allegations.

As part of that, we have already asked the charity to review historic safeguarding allegations and its response to them at the time.

We expect the charity to include in their review incidents that occurred in 2011. We will expect the charity to provide us with assurance that it has learnt lessons from past incidents and is taking all necessary steps to safeguard all who come into contact with it.'

In October last year, the Times also reported seven senior officials at the charity have been investigated for misconduct including sexual harassment.

There were 87 cases of alleged sexual exploitation in Oxfam between 2016 and 2017.

An Oxfam spokesman said: 'This was not a cover-up. Oxfam treats any allegations of misconduct extremely seriously. As soon as we became aware of the allegations in Haiti in 2011 we launched an internal investigation. 

Oxfam was also accused of covering up evidence as the Charity Commission said it had never been shown the specific allegations of sexual abuse mentioned in the 2011 investigation report (file photo)

'The investigation and its outcome were publicly announced and we kept Oxfam Trustees, the Charity Commission and the DFID informed.

'Allegations that underage girls may have been involved were not proven.

'A number of staff were dismissed as a result of the investigation and others left the organisation before it was completed

'The country director took full responsibility for events that took place under his management and was permitted to resign on the basis that he fully cooperated with and supported the investigation.

'After the investigation, we carried out a thorough review of the case which resulted in the creation of our dedicated Safeguarding Team and a confidential 'whistleblowing' hotline as part of a package of measures to ensure that we do all we can to protect our staff, prevent sexual abuse and misconduct happening in the first place and improve how we handle any allegations.'