The Confederation of British Industry faced its biggest crisis after Tony Dunker, the organization’s leader, was sacked.
The chief executive of one of Britain’s largest business groups has been sacked after an investigation into complaints about his behavior at work.
According to the group, he was ordered to leave immediately and will not receive severance pay. He claimed that the charges against him were “misrepresented” and that he was shocked by the dismissal.
A number of other senior figures at the CBI are also under investigation after a slew of complaints were filed and the company faces an uncertain future as allegations of sexual harassment and toxic culture are investigated.
So what is CBI and why was Mr Dunker fired? Here’s everything you need to know.
What is CBI?
The Confederation of British Industry is one of the largest business lobbying groups in the UK, claiming to represent 190,000 companies employing almost seven million people. It promotes the business interests of its members through international lobbying and advising governments, as well as through networking with other companies.
Members include Lloyds Bank, Tesco, and HSBC, as well as organizations such as the National Farmers Union, the Rural Land and Business Association, the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed, and the National Builders Federation.
Who is Tony Dunker?
Former CBI head Tony Dunker has been leading the organization since November 2020. He has been trying to build better relations with the UK government after Boris Johnson ousted the organization over its anti-Brexit sentiment.
The lobbying group was denied access to meetings with cabinet ministers in 2020 after criticizing the government’s strategy. Weekly meetings were disrupted and the government began to openly criticize the group.
Mr Dunker previously updated DefenderGuardian News & Media as International Director and Chief Strategy Officer from 2010 to 2017.
Prior to that, he was a political adviser to the Cabinet and Treasury under the Labor government from 2008 to 2010.
Why was he fired?
He then stepped down from his position at the CBI in March. Defender contacted the organization after a formal complaint was filed against him in January.
Defender it was previously reported that a formal complaint against Dunker was made in January by a CBI officer, and it is clear that she claimed that he made unwanted contact with her, which she perceived as sexual harassment.
Other allegations were made by more than 12 women who spoke of sexual harassment by company executives.
The law firm Fox Williams was hired to investigate his case, and after the investigation was completed, the CBI board of directors stated that Dunker’s behavior had “fallen short of the CEO’s expectations”. The results of the investigation against him remain unpublished.
The board said it wanted to clarify that Mr Dunker was not the subject of any recent allegations. Defenderincluding the allegation of rape at a summer boat party in 2019.
In a statement released on Twitter, Mr. Dunker said: “I acknowledge that the CBI has come under intense publicity following the exposure of the horrific events leading up to my tenure.
“I was shocked when I first heard about this last week. However, I was shocked to learn this morning that I was fired from the CBI and not asked to state my point of view as originally confirmed.
“Many of the accusations against me are perverted, but I admit that I unintentionally made some colleagues feel uncomfortable and I am truly sorry.
“I want to wish my former CBI colleagues the best of luck.”
Three other CBI employees have been suspended pending further investigation into other allegations, and the company has said it is in contact with police and will cooperate with any police investigation.
The CBI Council said in a statement: “We apologize to the victims of this organizational failure, including those affected by the disgust we all felt when we heard their stories. No one should feel safe at work.”
Dunker is replaced by Rain Newton-Smith, the recently deceased CBI chief economist.