CBI lobby group in 'difficult place' after rape claim, says member

Andy Wood, chief executive of Adnams, spoke at the annual meeting of the CBI in 2014

The CBI business group is in a "very difficult place" as it faces several allegations of sexual misconduct, the boss of one of its member firms said.

Andy Wood, chief executive of brewing company Adnams, said he had held discussions with his leadership team over potentially leaving the group.

It comes as an inquiry continues at the CBI into a number of claims, including an allegation of rape in 2019.

The government announced on Wednesday it was stopping contact with the group.

The Treasury as well as ministers from the departments for business and trade are understood to not be engaging with the CBI, pending the outcome of the investigation into the misconduct allegations.

The decision came after the CBI, which is one of Britain's largest business groups representing more than 190,000 businesses, announced it was postponing all of its public events, including its annual dinner.

The group has hired a private law firm, Fox Williams, to look into all the allegations, and it expects to have some preliminary findings shortly after Easter.

This means it has essentially halted its work, which is largely to lobby politicians on the behalf of its members to make policies that benefit UK businesses, as well as to conduct research and provide consultancy services on the economy to its members.

Some company executives, who are members of the CBI, have described the situation as an existential crisis for the organisation.

'Unacceptable'

Mr Wood, who runs Adnams in Southwold, Suffolk, said he would "prefer" the CBI to "sort itself out" but added the group needed to be "setting the standards here and where we are at the moment is unacceptable".

"It's in a very difficult place isn't it. If there is any scintilla of truth in this I think I can speak for all members that such behaviour is completely unacceptable there's no place for it in the workplace," Mr Wood said.

Asked on the BBC's Today programme if he had held discussions over the brewer withdrawing its membership, he replied: "Indeed we have yes."

"Reputations take decades to build and moments to destroy," he added. "The CBI need to get on with this and sort it out quickly and restore our trust and confidence in the organisation."

Mr Wood, like many other businesses have told the BBC, said he would await the outcome of the investigation before making any decisions.

Marks and Spencer said it has written to the acting director-general of the CBI to "seek reassurances" that the allegations were being "taken seriously and fully investigated", while Rolls-Royce said the recent claims were "deeply concerning".

The most serious allegation facing the CBI is from a woman who said she was raped by a senior colleague at a CBI summer boat party in 2019.

The woman told the Guardian newspaper, which first published the claims, that she felt let down by a CBI manager who, she said, advised her to seek out counselling rather than pursue the matter further.Regarding this allegation, the CBI has said it found "no evidence or record of this matter", but added it was part of the investigation being conducted by Fox Williams

A spokesman for the group has said the organisation "has treated and continues to treat all matters of workplace conduct with the utmost seriousness".

The investigation team is also examining separate allegations made against CBI director-general Tony Danker, who joined the CBI in 2020.

Mr Danker recently stepped aside pending the results of the investigation, for which he has "apologised profusely" and claimed "was completely unintentional".

The BBC understands that these new allegations published by the Guardian do not relate to Mr Danker.

Joanna Chatterton, head of the employment law team at Fox Williams, confirmed the firm was originally instructed by the CBI to conduct "an independent fact-finding investigation into the workplace conduct" of Mr Danker, but added its remit had been extended "in light of further recent allegations reported by the Guardian".

"The conclusions of our independent fact-finding investigation will be reported to the CBI board and will enable the board to decide on the subsequent actions it considers it appropriate to take," she said.