The Charities Commission has written to Oxfam 'as a matter of urgency' to find out more of the Oxford-based charity's conduct following a major disaster in 2011. 

It said it had been told of details of staff misconduct after the earthquake in Haiti in 2010, which killed 100,000 people – but that it was not told members of staff may have paid for sex with prostitutes who could have been underage, as reported in the Times.  

The Charities Commission statement said: “The report to us stated there had been no allegations, or evidence, of any abuse of beneficiaries. It also made no mention of any potential sexual crimes involving minors.

"Our approach to this matter would have been different had the full details that have been reported been disclosed to us at the time.”

The news comes as the Government said it is reviewing its relationship with Oxford-based Oxfam in the wake of sex allegations against some of the charity’s staff.

The Department for International Development (DfID) took the decision after the Oxford-based charity denied claims reported in the Times that it had covered up the use of prostitutes by aid workers in Haiti.

The charity said it had publicly announced an investigation into the allegations when they surfaced in 2011.

A DfID spokesman said: “We often work with organisations in chaotic and difficult circumstances.

“If wrongdoing, abuse, fraud, or criminal activity occur we need to know about it immediately, in full.

“The way this appalling abuse of vulnerable people was dealt with raises serious questions that Oxfam must answer.

“We acknowledge that hundreds of Oxfam staff have done no wrong and work tirelessly for the people they serve, but the handling by the senior team about this investigation and their openness with us and the charity commission showed a lack of judgement.

“We have a zero tolerance policy for the type of activity that took place in this instance, and we expect our partners to as well.

“The Secretary of State is reviewing our current work with Oxfam and has requested a meeting with the senior team at the earliest opportunity.”

Meanwhile, the former International Development Secretary Priti Patel called for prosecutions into the alleged abuses.

She told the Daily Telegraph: “There should be prosecutions and appropriate action against everyone complicit in this.

“I think taxpayers will be appalled aid money may have been used in such an awful way.”