Chief executive has faced calls to resign

Mark Goldring is to stand down as Oxfam GB chief executive at the end of this year.

It follows a sustained period of pressure on the charity’s governance and safeguarding procedures following allegations of sexual abuse.

The 61 year old said in a statement: "This journey will best be led by someone bringing fresh vision and energy."

He added: “What is important in 2019 and beyond is that Oxfam rebuilds and renews in a way that is most relevant for the future and so continues to help as many people as possible around the world build better lives.”

Oxfam’s deputy chief executive, Penny Lawrence, resigned in February.

The aid charity has been rocked by reports of the use of prostitutes by aid workers sent to provide relief after the Haiti earthquake that killed 220,000 people in 2011.

The troubled deepened with revelations of misconduct by aid workers in other countries and claims the charity covered up the abuse to save it reputation.

There were also claims abuse was rife in British high street shops as it emerged there have been 123 allegations of harassment including against girls of 14.

Goldring faced mounting pressure to quit over his failure to apologise for the sex abuse scandal. Government funding has been suspended and more than 7,000 donors cancelled direct debits.

The chief executive said the scandal had been "blown out of proportion" and it was not as if staff had “murdered babies in their cots.”

Caroline Thomson, the chair of Oxfam, said she had accepted Goldring’s decision to step down “with great sadness and with thanks for his dedication and leadership”.

She said: “Having led Oxfam successfully for five years, working with millions of people to help them escape poverty, building the international Oxfam confederation, and raising record levels of income, Mark faced the test of a lifetime managing the crisis which hit us in February and related to events before he joined."