Tricky Tuesdays

Caroline Thomson, offered as a 'safe pair of hands' yet still thwarted in the race to be BBC DG in 2012, is struggling with her new crisis as Chair of Oxfam. Though most of the trouble happened well before her accession, in October last year, her organisation's response as been nearly as unsteady as the BBC's handling of the early stages of Savile.

Her first public statement on the matter, on Sunday 11th February, offered a seven-point plan of platitudinous promises in a press release - when DFID Secretary Penny Mordaunt went out on the front foot on The Andrew Marr show. In press interviews, Kevin Watkins, CEO of Save the Children, has come across as the leader with an organised, sector-wide response to the matter. The BBC's James Landale then found Oxfam's leadership in the USA, with a second new plan (anyone going to work on the salaries paid by the charity in the States ?). Yesterday, Oxfam CEO Mark Goldring seemed to have missed whatever training on crisis communications he's been offered, and told the Guardian attacks on his organisation "are out of proportion to the level of culpability".

So we now look forward to Tuesday at 1030 when both Caroline and Mark appear in front of the Commons Select Committee on International Development. Committee member Nigel Evans has already called for Goldring's resignation; Caroline Thomson has described Mr Goldring as "doing a brilliant job".