Charity chief says he will oversee current investigation and defend staff

Under-fire Save the Children boss Kevin Watkins won’t resign.

It comes after the chief executive faced calls to quit over the charity’s handling of sexual misconduct cases.

A number of revelations in recent months have emerged about sexual misconduct by former senior employees, including inappropriate texts sent to female staff members by the charity's former chief executive, Justin Forsyth.

Allegations have also been made about Brendan Cox, the charity’s former policy director and widower of the murdered MP Jo Cox, of inappropriate behaviour towards women.

Cox left Save the Children in 2015 and admitted last month that he had "made mistakes" during his time at the charity.

Watkins took over as chief executive of Save the Children in September 2016, said in a statement that nothing would defelct him from the charity’s work.

He said: "The world’s children need Save the Children – and my job is to ensure we are there for them.

"Let me restate this categorically: I have zero tolerance for any form of bullying or sexual harassment. Our staff work for Save the Children because they are passionate, professional and committed to making a difference for children.

"They have a right to be protected – and I will defend that right."

Watkins said he had established an independent review "to strengthen our workplace culture" and the charity’s training systems had been improved to "build respect in the workplace."

Sir Alan Parker, chairman of Save the Children International, resigned last week after accusations that the charity had failed to deal with the claims adequately.

The Charity Commission has opened an inquiry into the charity over its handling of the misconduct cases.