The president of Britain’s most influential business lobby organisation has apologised for a spate of sexual misconduct allegations and “toxic culture” that has left the Confederation of British Industry fighting for its future.
Speaking publicly for the first time, Brian McBride apologised to those alleging various forms of sexual misconduct, which span several years, by senior figures at the organisation, including an allegation of rape, first reported in a Guardian investigation last month.
The revelations have plunged the CBI into a crisis that has led to the dismissal of its director general, Tony Danker, cancelled events after the withdrawal of multiple stakeholders and prompted an investigation by the City of London police. As the CBI promised to reveal early findings from an independent investigation, several of its members have since contemplated leaving.
McBride, the former UK chief executive of Amazon, said the board unanimously backed the decision to fire Danker, who was informed of his dismissal shortly before the news was made public. “Yes, we did act pretty hastily, but we also acted on very firm ground. We had pretty good legal advice all the way through this process.”
Danker said he was shocked to learn of his dismissal, adding: “I recognise that I unintentionally made a number of colleagues feel uncomfortable and I am truly sorry about that.”
The CBI claims to represent about 190,000 businesses, ranging from Barclays Bank to Asda supermarket, and have unrivalled access to government at all levels.
McBride said on Friday: “The first thing I want to say is really a deep apology on behalf of me and the CBI for what’s happened and to the people who were involved in this.
The first complaints of alleged sexual harassment were levelled against Danker last month. After being approached by the Guardian about formal allegations employees believed were not being taken seriously, Danker went on paid leave.
More than a dozen women approached the Guardian with new claims against different men that included inappropriate touching, sexualised remarks, drug use and an attempted sexual assault in 2019. They have led to the suspension of three other CBI employees.
The women, who all work at the CBI or have worked there in recent years, form part of an expanding investigation now overseen by an external human resources consultant to help manage complaints, as well as the law firm Fox Williams.
The company’s future has been thrown into jeopardy facing a boycott by its own members and the politicians and regulators it seeks to influence. The government has suspended any further engagement, and meetings between the CBI and civil servants are paused.
The latest senior figure to cast the lobby group into doubt was the former editor of Wall Street Journal Europe, Patience Wheatcroft, who told the BBC “its time has passed”.
McBride conceded change would be required under its new director general, Rain Newton-Smith, and appealed to CBI members, the public and the government to be judged on “what we do” after the investigation findings.
“I think the CBI has to redefine itself, it has to be sharper, it has to be more focused,” McBride said. He promised to review the “layers of management” that complainants faced and said the internal culture lacked transparency.
A criminal investigation into the rape allegation could take 12-18 months to complete and McBride said it would be “unfair” for the government to freeze relations for that long.
“We’re looking for active engagement with the government soon, because we’ve got work to be doing with them. And we don’t want to be on hold for an indefinite period,” he said.
