Tony Dunker, head of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) business leaders lobbying group, has resigned pending an independent investigation into complaints about his behaviour.
The CBI said it investigated and reviewed the allegations against the CEO in January “in accordance with CBI procedure.” It “ruled that the case did not require an escalation of disciplinary proceedings.”
The CBI said it had recently become aware of new reports of Dunker’s behavior in the workplace, which “will lead to an independent investigation of these new issues.”
An outside law firm was hired to investigate the complaints. The new investigation is said to follow “informal reports of concerns” made this month.
Tony Dunker said on social media that he was “humiliated” to learn that he had “offended or upset every colleague.” “This was completely unintentional and I apologize for that,” he wrote.
The initial formal complaint concerned a CBI employee who alleged that Mr. Dunker made unwanted contact with her and described his behavior as sexual harassment.
“The allegation has been thoroughly investigated and extensively reviewed in accordance with CBI procedure,” said CBI President Brian McBride. “The CBI investigation concluded that the matter does not require disciplinary action.”
The CBI said in a statement: “On March 2, the CBI became aware of new reports of Tony Dunker’s behavior in the workplace. We have now taken steps to launch an independent investigation into these new cases. Tony Dunker has asked to step down as CBI CEO while an independent investigation into these cases continues,” he added.
“The CBI takes all matters of workplace conduct extremely seriously, but it is important to emphasize that pending the completion of this investigation, any new allegations remain unsubstantiated and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.
He hired Joanna Chatterton, head of labor law at Fox Williams, to investigate. Matthew Fell, chief political officer of the CBI in the UK, temporarily replaced Dunker.
Mr Dunker, a former Treasury adviser, has been appointed head of the UK’s largest employer group in 2020.
Source: I News
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