Harbottle & Lewis was paid more than £100,000 in "media-related legal fees" by Save the Children following allegations of sexual harassment by the charity's staff earlier this year.

The charity released the figures after it was accused earlier this year of spending money donated by the public on lawyers to "shut down" media reporting of harassment claims.

The accusation was made by Conservative MP Pauline Latham during a parliamentary committee investigating sexual abuse in the aid sector, at which the former chairman of the charity, Sir Alan Parker, gave evidence.

Save the Children has now confirmed that it spent £95,000, plus £19,000 VAT, on advice from the West End firm since the beginning of 2018. The charity said the use of lawyers was intended to "protect the identities of women who had made complaints" and "keep false and/or defamatory claims out of the media".

The charity also said the funds were drawn from its UK reserves and that "funding of our programmes for children is not affected".

In his evidence session, Sir Alan denied that Save the Children had sought to quash stories about sexual harassment allegations, saying: "It was not an attempt to close anything down – it was just an attempt to make sure the organisation was protected."

Media firm Harbottle, which is based in Hanover Square in Mayfair, is well known for its work for high-profile clients such as the Royal Family, David and Victoria Beckham, and Roman Abramovich.

The news comes after Legal Week revealed in May that Save the Children opted not to reopen a disciplinary investigation into allegations of inappropriate behaviour by former chief executive Justin Forsyth, on the basis of advice given by Lewis Silkin and supported by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

Both firms provided employment advice to the charity, with Freshfields approached on a pro bono basis in October 2015 to offer an opinion on advice the charity had already sought from employment specialist Lewis Silkin.

Harbottle was contacted for comment.