Actress Minnie Driver has stepped down from her role as Oxfam ambassador as the charity battles to save its reputation following revelations its aid workers paid vulnerable people for sex.

Driver said she was 'nothing short of horrified' by the allegations after the British charity is accused of covering up the abuse committed by its workers.

'I certainly will not let the abhorrent mistakes of a troubling organisation stop me or anyone else from working with good people in this space to support a population of human beings around the world that needs our help,' she said in a statement.

The actress added later on Twitter that she was 'devastated by the response' of Oxfam which she had been 'raising awareness for since I was nine years old'.

It comes as the charity's chief executive Mark Goldring is being summoned to fight for his job before a committee of MPs. A hearing with the international development select committee is scheduled for Tuesday next week.

The Charity Commission is also launching a statutory inquiry into Oxfam - which denies a cover-up - and officials will meet with Oxfam today.

The Bishop of Burnley, Philip North, accused the charity of 'hypocrisy'.

He used a slot on BBC Radio 4's Thought for the Day on Tuesday to ask: 'Why have the revelations about staff using prostitutes done Oxfam quite so much damage?

'I think it is because of a widespread cultural abhorrence of hypocrisy,' he added.

'If a charity claims to stand up for truth and justice and fairness, people understandably feel extremely shocked when staff are undermining those values through their moral choices.'

More than 1,200 people cancelled their direct debit payments to Oxfam over the weekend following the revelations, the charity confirmed, more than double the typical cancellation rate of 600 per month. However it also said more people were making single payments, with 78 gifts received on Tuesday, the highest of any day so far this year.

A spokesperson for Oxfam said: 'We are grateful for the support of people during this difficult time for Oxfam, some of whom have expressed that they are deeply saddened by the repercussions of the appalling actions of a few — they are determined that the millions of people that Oxfam helps worldwide don't suffer as a result.'