UK business lobby group CBI suspends activities after new rape claims

The UK’s main business lobby group suspended large parts of its operations after dozens of major companies resigned from the organization following new allegations of sexual assault among its staff.

The Confederation of British Industry said it would put “all policy and membership activity on hold until an extraordinary general meeting in June.” At that gathering, the group will consider proposals to overhaul the CBI, letting members decide on the future of the organization.

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“Our members have told us in recent days and weeks that they believe in the importance of a collective voice to inform national policy and the unique role that an organization like the CBI can play in public life,” the group said in a statement late Friday. “But much needs to change if we are to win back their trust so we may continue to represent business at this critical time for the country.”

BT Group Plc, NatWest Group Plc, and John Lewis Partnership Plc were among the household names to quit the group on Friday after the Guardian newspaper published claims from a second woman who said she was raped by colleagues at the CBI.

Catering company Compass Group Plc said it was withdrawing its membership with immediate effect.

The scandal began last month when CBI boss Tony Danker stepped aside pending an investigation into alleged inappropriate behavior toward his colleagues. The organization subsequently faced separate allegations of sexual assault said to have occurred prior to Danker’s reign, including from a woman who said she was raped during a CBI boat party on the River Thames. Danker was fired last week.

CBI’s apology

“The CBI shares the shock and revulsion at the events that have taken place in our organization, and at past failures that allowed these events to happen,” the group said in the statement. “We are deeply sorry and express our profound regret to the women who have endured these horrific experiences.”

Aviva Plc was the first large company to publicly end its membership, adding that the CBI was no longer able to represent businesses “in light of the very serious allegations,” while a spokesperson for Virgin Media O2 said it had resigned as “the way the situation has been handled is not representative of business in Britain.”

The CBI is one of the UK’s best-known lobby groups, with a strong record of influencing government policy. It claims to speak for 190,000 companies in the UK which it also represents at events across the world.

The group depends on annual membership fees, which reached £22 million ($27 million) before the scandal.

Companies including National Grid Plc, Shell Plc, supermarkets Asda and Lidl, and Lloyds Banking Group Plc have also paused engagement.

Adnams Brewery Chief Executive Officer Andy Wood said in a BBC Radio 4 interview Saturday that CBI membership has now become “untenable for businesses” and the lobby group has “probably run its course.”

Meanwhile, Baroness Patience Wheatcroft, a former non-executive director of Barclays Plc, told Times Radio the rape allegations make it “nigh-on impossible” for the CBI to continue as it was and “they probably need to disband.”

And while the future of CBI is yet to be decided, some of the UK’s biggest banks, retailers and telecommunications companies have been invited to join a new business lobby, according to a Sky News report on Saturday. BizUK, which is being created by public affairs firm WPI Strategy, is to function as a temporary body that would represent business to the main UK political parties ahead of a general election that’s due by January 2025, Sky said.

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