Mark Goldring said Oxfam needed to "win back the trust" of the British people after it was rocked by accusations it had covered up claims that staff used prostitutes while delivering aid.

His apology in a column in the Sunday Mirror newspaper was of a different tone to the one struck on Friday, when Goldring told The Guardian critics were "gunning" for his organisation and suggested no-one had "murdered babies in their cots".

Meanwhile, the Charity Commission said it had already seen "increased reporting" from the sector following the Oxfam revelations - as it announced a new taskforce to look at safeguarding incidents.

Goldring will be hauled before MPs to answer questions about Oxfam's aid work on the Caribbean island, parts of which were devastated by an earthquake in 2011.

He wrote: "We are sorry for the mistakes we have made. We should have been more open with the public about the fact that staff in Haiti were fired for sexual abuse. And we should have expanded our safeguarding team faster.

"As an organisation that fights for women's rights, the abuse of women in Oxfam's name is particularly hard to bear."

The head of Oxfam International described the damning sexual exploitation allegations its faces as a "stain" on the charity "that will shame us for years" as she announced plans to try to stamp out abuse in the organisation.

Executive director Winnie Byanyima promised to root out any wrongdoing at the charity and provide justice for anyone abused by its staff.

The Charity Commission said its new taskforce would ensure any gaps in serious incident reports across the sector were filled and that it would "intervene in serious cases where the Commission is concerned that trustees are not fulfilling their legal duties".

Australian Associated Press