Oxfam and Save the Children bosses face grilling from MPs

Oxfam and Save the Children bosses will go before MPs this morning following allegations of abuse and misconduct by staff working after the earthquake in Haiti.

Directors from the Department for International Development will also face a grilling by members of the international development select committee this morning.

Oxfam offered its 'humblest apologies' to Haiti in a meeting between two senior members of the charity's leadership, Simon Ticehurst and Margalida Massot, and Haiti's minister of planning and external cooperation.

Oxfam, which has more than 10,000 staff working in 90 countries, denies a cover-up and chief executive Mark Goldring says the intensity of criticism is disproportionate.

But Oxfam's handling of the scandal is being investigated by the Charity Commission and a redacted version of a 2011 internal report revealed three men accused of sexual misconducting Haiti had threatened witnesses during the investigation.

In the report Oxfam said the former director of operations in Haiti, Roland Van Hauwermeiren, 'admitted using prostitutes' at his Oxfam residence after last week denying he paid prostitutes for sex.

Save the Children and Christian Aid have also been dragged into the fallout after an investigation by the Times newspaper first uncovered the extent of abuse. A total of more than 120 workers from a range of Britain's leading charities have reportedly been accused of sexual abuse in the past year alone with new figures collated by the charities revealing that Oxfam recorded 87 allegations of sexual misconduct between April 2016 and March 2017, of which 53 were referred to the police. Meanwhile, Save the Children had 31 cases, 10 of which were referred to the police, and Christian Aid had two.

The hearing before MPs begins at 10.30 and can be watched online here.

News
Nigerian faith leaders call for interfaith reconciliation to end violence
Nigerian faith leaders call for interfaith reconciliation to end violence

Nigeria is the deadliest country in the world for Christians.

Businessman and peer Lord Edmiston reflects on faith, stewardship and global mission
Businessman and peer Lord Edmiston reflects on faith, stewardship and global mission

The successful businessman and peer said he was driven by evangelism, not the creation of wealth for its own sake.

Greek Orthodox Church in Britain baptises 250 people
Greek Orthodox Church in Britain baptises 250 people

The church said that many of those baptised had been guided into the faith through its Discover Orthodoxy programme.

Kemi Badenoch pledges to restore historic church funding scheme
Kemi Badenoch pledges to restore historic church funding scheme

The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme was formally closed at the end of March but ran out of money before that after its budget was cut.