With Oxfam being rocked by criticisms for its failure in warning aid agencies about staff caught using prostitutes in earthquake-torn Haiti, actress Minnie Driver has stood down from her role as a celebrity ambassador for the British charity.
Known for the films ‘Good Will Hunting’, ‘Grosse Point Blank’ and ‘Hope Springs’, Driver said in a statement she was "nothing short of horrified" by the allegations, the BBC reported on Wednesday.
She also said although she could not continue her 20 years of involvement with Oxfam, she would work against "social and economic injustice".
Oxfam said it was "grateful" for the actress’ commitment and that it was "more committed now than ever to learn from our mistakes", according to the report.
Organisations including Marks and Spencer and the Duke of Edinburgh's (DofE) Award have also said they were considering their association with the charity, the BBC said.
Reuters reported that Secretary of State for International Development Penny Mordaunt told anti-poverty groups that Britain - one of the world's most generous foreign development donors - would cut funding if they could not show they were clear of the kind of abuse that has rocked Oxfam.
Mordaunt also said she was due to meet the head of Britain's National Crime Agency or NCA on Thursday. The NCA has led investigations which led to the jailing of British citizens for sex crimes committed abroad.
The Times newspaper reported last Friday that some Oxfam staff paid for sex with prostitutes in Haiti after the country's 2010 earthquake.
Roland van Hauwermeiren, 68, who was forced to resign as Haiti country director in 2011 after admitting having prostitutes visit his Oxfam villa, went on to become head of mission for French charity Action Against Hunger in Bangladesh in 2012-14, the British newspaper said.
Oxfam has neither confirmed nor denied that specific account but has said an internal investigation in 2011 confirmed sexual misconduct occurred and it has apologised.
Haiti President Jovenel Moise has strongly condemned Oxfam over the revelation as an "extremely serious violation of human dignity".
"There is nothing more outrageous and dishonest than a sexual predator who uses his position as part of the humanitarian response to a natural disaster to exploit needy people in their moment of greatest vulnerability," he tweeted.
Oxfam's Deputy Chief Executive Penny Lawrence resigned on Monday over the handling of the scandal.
The charity receives around 32 million pounds ($44 million) of British government funding a year.
The European Commission has also said it could cut off its funding for Oxfam which stands at around 68 million euros ($84 million) a year.
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