Oxfam boss denies cover up at previous charity

17 Jun 2019 News

Danny Sriskandarajah, secretary general of Civicus

Oxfam’s chief executive Danny Sriskandarajah has denied accusations that he tried to “cover up” an employee’s alleged encounters with sex workers at a previous charity.

The Mail on Sunday reported the accusations yesterday from Nigel McCollum, who was head of public affairs at the Royal Commonwealth Society in 2009 while Sriskandarajah was director general.

McCollum told the newspaper that he had informed the charity’s bosses of a senior colleague’s alleged encounters with sex workers by sending them a dossier containing documents, DVDs, photographs and audio cassettes.

However, McCollum claimed he was told to destroy the evidence, made to sign a gagging order and “effectively forced out” of the charity.

He expressed disappointment that the colleague to whom the dossier referred, unnamed for legal reasons, was allowed to resign shortly after he had sent the dossier and went on to work for other charities.

McCollum said: “In my view, the bottom line is Danny and the RCS covered this up. These days we expect transparency but we didn't get it on this. The matter was brushed under the carpet.”

Sriskandrajah: ‘I was not involved’

In response, Sriskandarajah denied any involvement in the man’s resignation, saying the matter was dealt with by trustees.

He said in a statement: “I was not involved in, or party to, any decisions relating to the resignation referred to in the Mail on Sunday.

“The matter was rightly dealt with by the trustees at the time and not me. I had been in post for just eight weeks at the time of the resignation. 

“As the director of the RCS I was assured by the trustees that the allegations related to the individual's personal life and not the RCS.”

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