My hon. Friend admits that it was a mistake; on that, we are clearly agreed.

Complaints reached such a pitch that the Charity Commissioners set up an inquiry, which reported last month. It concluded that Oxfam's trustees had exceeded the charity's objects and the law which restricts charities from undertaking political activities. The report said that the trustees do not appear to differentiate between stating a possible solution to a problem in a reasoned fashion and campaigning to have that solution adopted. The commission concluded that Oxfam's unacceptable political activities must cease. Yet it took the view that Oxfam's trustees had acted in good faith and therefore decided to take no action to seek reimbursement of the misapplied funds or to refer the matter to the Attorney-General. This is the fourth occasion since 1981 on which Oxfam has been found guilty of conducting political campaigns and it appears undeterred by reprimands from the commission. Even after the latest inquiry, Oxfam remains defiant. Its chairman, Mary Cherry, responded to the commission report by saying: We have come to see that our primary object of relieving poverty, distress and suffering cannot be achieved without advocacy on behalf of the people we are trying to help"—in other words, "We will go on as before. Oxfam has undoubtedly been encouraged in that attitude by a very cosy relationship with the commission in the past. In July 1987, an internal briefing to the trustees of Oxfam by Bruce Coles, the charity's legal adviser, commented on how the private guidance from the then chief commissioner—Mr. Dennis Peach—departed considerably from the commission's public statments. It is significant that he added: we are fortunate in having a liberal-minded Chief Charity Commissioner"— in other words, one who would always give Oxfam the benefit of any doubt.

Notwithstanding the good work that Oxfam does in famine relief, that is a highly unsatisfactory state of affairs. A fraud is being committed if money donated for charitable purposes by the public—either directly or through taxation—is siphoned off to pay for political campaigns. Oxfam has been found guilty of such fraud, yet it is in that area that the commission is proving incapable of taking the necessary steps.

The commission's ethos is undoubtedly to smooth over any problems or disputes with the charity in question, especially in matters of alleged political abuse of status. The commission appears to become pro-active only in cases of fraud and mismanagement of trusts and charities, but does not appear to regard the abuse of taxpayers' money for political campaigns as worthy of serious redress.