Charity Penny Appeal has responded to reports of a ‘safeguarding issue’ in its local office in Gambia.

The charity said that on 13 August it was made aware of an alleged safeguarding issue in Gambia at a local community-based organisation supported by a partner organisation, Penny Appeal Gambia. Penny Appeal-Gambia was reportedly temporarily shut down.

Harris Iqbal, Interim CEO of Penny Appeal, said, “I am deeply pained at the reports about the operations that Penny Appeal supports in The Gambia. These violate our most fundamental values. All of the children we support in The Gambia have now returned to their guardians, and are safe.

“Having recently being appointed to lead Penny Appeal, and as a father myself, there is nothing more important to me than our charity having the highest possible standards of care and safety.”

“We are undertaking serious and substantive action: "We are increasing our capacity in The Gambia, to cooperate with and support investigations, and engage with the Gambian government. We have asked an international agency to undertake this work on our behalf. We are also engaging with the UK Charity Commission.

"We are in discussion with the leading children’s charity Barnardo’s to arrange an independent root and branch review of safeguarding arrangements across Penny Appeal. While we prioritise safeguarding across our global programmes, this independent expert review is necessary to strengthen us further. "We are quadrupling the resources we devote to safeguarding globally, and are committed to doing whatever is required to ensure we have the best possible people and practices.

“We must uphold the highest standards of care and safety, and do all we can to better the lives of children around the world.”