Page 14 Daily Mail, Tuesday, March 3, 2020
By Simon
Walters
A CHARITY chief is set to face
calls to resign over claims that
female staff were not protected
from sex pest bosses.
Save the Children will be accused
of ‘comprehensive failures’ in a
report by the Charity Commission
on Thursday.
The damning charges follow a two-
year investigation sparked by allega-
tions of sexual harassment against two
former bosses of the organisation.
Gone: Alan Parker, left, and Justin
Forsyth with Samantha CameronUnder pressure: Save the Children chief Kevin Watkins
MPs drink three
times as much
as the rest of us
POLITICIANS drink nearly three times as
much as the rest of the population, a
study shows.
Some 40 per cent of MPs drink at least
four times a week, compared with 15 per
cent of the public. And they typically
consume greater quantities, with 20 per
cent having at least five drinks in an
average session, compared with 15 per
cent of those they represent.
Researchers from King’s College Lon-
don said MPs who did extra work outside
the Commons were three times more
prone to heavy drinking than other MPs.
They suggested the pressure from con-
stituents could lead to binge-drinking.
All 650 MPs were invited to take part in
an anonymous online survey in Decem-
ber 2016 with 146 responding, the BMJ
Open medical journal reported.
It follows a crackdown on the ‘culture
of excess’ at Parliament, which has been
linked to bullying and harassment.Justin Forsyth, who had been its
chief executive, was forced to quit
a senior post with Unicef when
the claims emerged in 2018. His
former deputy Brendan Cox,
widower of Labour MP Jo Cox,
also had to stand down from a
charity launched in her name.
The scandal claimed a third
scalp when the charity’s chair-
man, Sir Alan Parker, quit.
Insiders say the watchdog’s
report is likely to lead to calls for
a fourth resignation – that of Mr
Forsyth’s successor, Kevin Wat-
kins. He was a trustee of the
charity during the time it alleg-
edly covered up misconduct.
Female employees claimed in
2018 that Mr Watkins was the
fourth member of the ‘cosy club
of men’ responsible for a ‘culture
of complicity that led to the mis-
treatment of women’.
Mr Forsyth, 54, was accused of
sending a barrage of ‘unsuita-
ble’ text messages to female
staff at STC. Mr Cox, 44, faced
similar claims and was accused
of sexually assaulting a senior
female government official in
the United States.
They joined STC after working
in Downing Street for Gordon
Brown. Both left the charity in
2015, Mr Cox after harassment
allegations. Mr Forsyth denied
quitting for similar reasons.
H o w e v e r b o t h h a d b e e n
accused of misconduct – allega-
tions that were swept under the
carpet. Mr Forsyth landed the
plum post at Unicef, which was
not told about the complaints
against him.
But he came under pressure
when Mr Cox was forced to
resign from the Jo Cox Founda-
tion. It emerged there had been
three complaints against Mr
Forsyth from female STC staff
between 2011 and 2015 and he
resigned from his UN job.
The commission’s investiga-
tion focused on the charity’s
failure to support women staff
and claims that it protected Mr
Forsyth and Mr Cox.
A source said: ‘STC let down
women employees very badly
and there were comprehensive
failures in the way manage -
ment dealt with the matter
throughout. Mr Watkins has
questions to answer.’
Mr Watkins has always denied
any wrongdoing and says majorchanges have been introduced
at STC to safeguard female
employees. Mr Forsyth, who
was paid £160,000 a year at
STC, admitted to ‘personal
mistakes’ over sending three
young women a large number
of over-familiar text messages
in his five years at the helm.
Female whistleblowers said he
commented on their appear-
ance, their clothes and how he
felt about them.
If they didn’t reply to text mes-police file said Mr Cox ‘grabbed
(the woman) by the hips sev-
eral times ... and forced his
thumb into her mouth in a sex-
ual way’.
He allegedly touched her inap-
propriately in a restaurant and
tried to push her into drinking
more than she wanted.
The alleged incident occurred
in 2015 shortly after Mr Cox had
left STC and nine months before
his wife was murdered by a far-
Right fanatic.
US police took no action and
Mr Cox denied the claims.
But in a highly emotional
interview he admitted making
mistakes while he was at STC.
He said: ‘I want to apologise
deeply and unreservedly for my
past behaviour and for the hurt
and offence that I have caused.’
The STC’s annual income
plummeted by £100million to
£303million last year in the wake
of the scandal.
The Department for Interna-
tional Development withdrew
its £16million grant and public
c o n t r i b u t i o n s d r o p p e d b y
around £1million.
In a separate charity scandal it
was revealed in 2018 that Oxfam
staff used prostitutes in earth-
quake-hit Haiti in 2010.‘He has questions
to answer’sages, he would send them a fol-
low-up email and even call them
in for a chat, it was claimed.
A leaked email from the time
recommended that Mr Forsyth
should not be alone with female
employees.
The allegations of misconduct
against Mr Cox included a claim
that he grabbed a woman by the
throat outside a bar, telling her
‘I want to f*** you’.
In February 2018 it emerged
that he had been accused of
sexually assaulting a senior
female US government official
at Harvard University. The USAccused:
Brendan
Cox with
wife JoBorrowers
punished in
overhaul of
overdrafts
MILLIONS of bank customers could see
the cost of borrowing double over the
next few weeks.
HSBC, Nationwide and Metro are
among those named and shamed in a
report into the impact of a major over-
haul of overdraft fees.
The Financial Conduct Authority has
told banks to ditch swingeing penalties
for customers who breach their bor-
rowing limits without agreement. From
April 6 they will have to introduce blan-
ket fees, charging the same for arranged
and unarranged overdrafts.
But an investigation by Moneyfacts has
found that some lenders appear to be
trying to claw back the money they will
lose by ratcheting up the cost of borrow-
ing for those who rely on their arranged
overdraft but never stray over the limit.
Others – including Barclays, Santander,
Halifax and Virgin Money – are cutting
the cost of borrowing across the board.
Moneyfacts’ Rachel Springall said: ‘It’s
both shocking and disappointing to see
that current account providers will
charge high rates of interests in the
aftermath of extortionate usage feesBy James Salmon
Associate City Editor‘Double-edged
sword’Save the Children
‘failed female staff’
FOURTH boss could face calls to quit
over charity’s sex harassment scandal
being scrapped, with some even dou-
bling the charges for customers.
‘The much-needed overhaul of the
charges has been a double-edged sword
for some.’
Its analysis compared the cost of bor-
rowing £500 for 30 days in an arranged
overdraft under the old regime and
under the new regime.
First Direct, part of HSBC, has hiked the
arranged overdraft from 15.9 per cent to
39.9 per cent – pushing the cost of bor-
rowing £500 for a month from £3.05 to
£7. This equates to a rise of 129 per cent.
HSBC said: ‘Changes are being made
across the industry to make overdrafts
more transparent and easier to under-
stand and our changes.
‘For seven in ten customers who use an
overdraft it will be cheaper or cost
the same.’
The FCA said the shake-up would ‘result
in a fairer distribution of charges, help-
ing vulnerable consumers’.