Bono’s charity accused of spending more on wages than good causes

U2 star Bono’s charity has come under fire after it allegedly gave only £118,000 to good causes despite receiving nearly 10 million pounds in donations.

The singer is behind the non-profit ‘One’ campaign, which has been accused of blowing £5.1 million on staff salaries whereas poverty-stricken children in Africa live on less than 80p a day.

Figures from 2008 show that ONE received £9.6 million in donations, yet it splashed out on expensive gifts in a bid to raise awareness of Aids victims.

American newspaper staff were handed free 13-pound water bottles, £10 leather notebooks and pricey bags of coffee.

The group, which aims to help the world’s hungry, also sent out giant cookies.

“There could be recipients, or donors, who might think the money could have been donated to help their cause,” the Daily Star quoted Daniel as saying.

However, the entourage of the organisation defended the spending and insisted its main objective was lobbying.

ONE claimed it does not take donations from the public and most of its cash comes from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

“We don’t provide aid programmes on the ground. We are an advocacy and campaigning organisation,” said Oliver Buston, spokesperson for ONE.