A Crown Estate spokesman is suspending his membership in the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) due to allegations of sexual harassment. I.
The announcement comes as the latest blow after major companies including John Lewis, Aviva and Phoenix became the first to publicly end their membership following a second allegation of rape by an employee.
The scandal threatens the future of the UK’s largest employers’ organization after government ministers said they would suspend their involvement until the matter was satisfactorily resolved.
The CBI, which is said to act on behalf of some 190,000 companies employing seven million people in the UK, has not publicly confirmed its membership.
But the Crown Estate, the collection of land and property that ultimately belongs to King Charles, is one of them.
The representative said I on Friday: “In our opinion, these are very serious allegations that are being investigated.
“We are awaiting the outcome of this investigation, but we will not be attending CBI meetings and any comments at this stage would be inappropriate.”
Meanwhile, department store operator John Lewis Partnership, which also operates the Waitrose supermarket chain, is among the most prominent companies exiting membership. Membership is effective immediately.”
FTSE 100 listed Aviva, one of the UK’s largest insurers, has also pulled out of the corporate lobby following recent allegations of misconduct.
It states: “Given the very serious allegations and the way the CBI has handled the process and response, we believe that the CBI can no longer fulfill its primary function of providing a representative voice for business in the UK.
“We are very sorry that we terminated our membership immediately.”
Companies that have previously terminated their relationship with CBI
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) claims to represent 190,000 companies in the UK, employing about seven million people.
The lobbying group does not publish a complete list of its members, but includes many well-known names.
Among those who have confirmed that they are breaking off relations are:
- Store owner John Lewis
- BMW car company
- Telecommunication company Virgin Media02
- Insurers Aviva, Zurich and Phoenix Group
- Supermarket giant Asda
- Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca
- Unilever
Companies that have suspended membership pending investigation include:
- crown property
- natwest
- PVC
- bp
- sleeve
- Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram
A spokesman for savings and pensions giant Phoenix said: “Following the allegations that were reported this morning, we have made the decision to terminate our CBI membership immediately.”
The Association of British Insurers (ABI), the body representing the UK insurance industry, has also announced its withdrawal from CBI membership following recent allegations of wrongdoing.
“Sustaining our membership has become impossible in the face of further serious accusations and [we] informed the CBI of our decision to withdraw, effective immediately,” an ABI spokesperson said. ABI represents over 200 insurance companies.
One of them, Vitality, a small British health insurer, said it was quitting separately. Vitality CEO Neville Kupowicz said, “We don’t think they have the credibility to represent the corporate world at this point,” the company said. financial times reported.
After that, the crisis faced by the CBI deepened. Defender reported on Friday that a woman said she was raped by two male colleagues.
The woman claimed that the alleged rape occurred while she was unconscious after working overnight at a CBI office overseas.
She said she had no recollection of the rape itself, but detailed the physical signs that led her to believe she had been raped, and was later shown the final photograph in the office.
This is the woman’s second allegation that she was raped by the organization.
An employee previously claimed she was attacked by a manager at a summer boat party in 2019.
Details of the new rape allegation have been handed over to the police.
The City of London Police were already investigating an earlier allegation of rape, as well as a number of other allegations of misconduct by about a dozen officers.
individually, Defender It was also reported on Friday that a woman from the organization’s London office said she was harassed by a male colleague in 2018.
In response, CBI President Brian McBride called the latest allegations “disgusting” and offered his condolences to those affected. “While the CBI was not previously aware of the most serious allegations, it is vital that they are thoroughly investigated and we are working closely with the police to ensure that all those responsible are brought to justice.
“We take note of the contents of the harassment report, which concerns an allegation made and investigated in January 2018. The fact of harassment was confirmed and sanctions were imposed on him.
The CBI added that it is awaiting a new report from the law firm, which is conducting an internal investigation, and will announce steps early next week to bring about “broader needed changes.”
Many large companies say their decision to stay with the organization depends on the results of this independent review and CBI’s response to it. Asset Manager Abdn said: “Like other members, we await the outcome of the ongoing review and look forward to understanding CBI’s plans to address the issues.”
Some companies such as Shell, Lloyds Bank and Asda are currently refusing to cooperate with CBI.
PwC, one of the “big four” accounting groups, said it was ending all activities with CBI. “With several appalling allegations hanging over him, the CBI is currently unable to do its job,” a PwC spokesman said.
The role of representing UK businesses and matters most important to business remained valuable, but it required the commission to be “a credible voice and have the necessary membership to be representative,” PwC said.
On Thursday, the CBI confirmed it had provided police with new information about the “major crime” report.
He said he was in “close contact” with the authorities and urged anyone with more information to come forward.
In addition, former CBI CEO Tony Dunker was fired last week after he was accused of making unwanted contact with a woman working for the organization.
He claims his reputation has been “completely damaged” by the accusation and claims to have become a “hawk” to a bigger crisis.
Mr Dunker told the BBC that his name was erroneously linked to separate allegations, including rape, which allegedly took place before he joined the CBI.
Following the initial allegations, the group also fired three other employees and hired the law firm Fox Williams to conduct an internal investigation.
Source: I News
I am Moises Cosgrove and I work for a news website as an author. I specialize in the market section, writing stories about the latest developments in the world of finance and economics. My articles are read by people from all walks of life, from investors to analysts, to everyday citizens looking for insight into how news will affect their finances.