Peter Newell wrote a manual on children’s rights that was published by Unicef

A “child rights activist” convicted of abusing a 12-year-old boy managed a charity that received hundreds of thousand of pounds from the NSPCC, Barnardo’s, Save the Children and Unicef.

Peter Newell, who wrote a manual on children’s rights published by Unicef, was jailed for multiple counts of historical sexual assault on a child aged 12 when the abuse began.

Newell, 77, was listed as co-ordinator for Approach, a children’s charity active across Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia until the allegations arose in 2016.

He was jailed last month at Blackfriars crown court after admitting five charges relating to the rape and indecent assault of a boy under 16.

The Association for the Protection of All Children, or Approach, lobbies for the protection of children