CBI pledges to 'repay faith' after surviving members' confidence vote following sexual abuse claims
6 June 2023, 19:08 | Updated: 7 June 2023, 09:41
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has vowed to repay the faith of its members after coming through a confidence vote on Tuesday.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
The CBI has been rocked by claims of rape and sexual assault by staff in recent months, leading several big businesses to cut ties with the membership organisation.
Some 93% of members voted in favour of a confidence vote to support the CBI at an extraordinary general meeting on Tuesday afternoon. The CBI had halted all policy and membership work in April until the meeting and confidence vote.
Rain Newton-Smith, hired as the group's chief executive two months ago in the midst of the allegations, said: "After an incredibly tough period, I'm deeply grateful for the faith shown in us by our members.
"We've made real progress in implementing the top-to-bottom programme of change promised by the board and, while there remains work to do, today's result represents an important milestone on that journey.
Listen and subscribe to Unprecedented: Inside Downing Street on Global Player
Former president of the CBI believes in organisation.
"Even an organisation as established as the CBI is only as strong as its members. That support is something we have never taken for granted.
"We will work tirelessly to repay the faith shown in us and are committed to living the values and changes we have proposed."
Speaking to Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, Vice President of the CBI, Lord Bilimoria expressed gratitude to members, stating: "Now we’ve got the backing of our members we can look forward to being the voice of British Business both in the UK and on the international stage."
When questioned by Nick as to when we will know if the reforms are “working”, Lord Bilimoria replied, “straight away”.
Two claims of rape were made against staff at the 58-year-old CBI, which has a royal charter and claims to represent 190,000 British businesses.
An employee alleged that she was attacked by a manager on a summer boat party in 2019.
Noting the ongoing sexual misconduct investigation, Lord Bilimoria told Nick: "There have been horrible instances that have taken place that is being dealt with, two are in the hands of the police
“We’ve now go to look ahead and move on,".
A second female employee later said she was raped by two male colleagues while she was unconscious following a night out while working at a CBI office abroad.
She said she had no recollection of the alleged attack itself but had described in detail the physical signs that led her to believe she had been raped, and was later presented in the office with an explicit photograph.
Separately, director-general Tony Danker stepped down in April after being accused of making unwanted contact with a woman who works for the organisation.
The allegations led to several big businesses ending their membership, including Aviva, ITV, NatWest, BMW, and Mastercard. These companies were unable to take part in the confidence vote.
Pharmaceutical giants GSK and AstraZeneca, and retailer Marks & Spencer are among those who put their membership on hold amid the claims. The Government also said it would pause all engagement with the CBI.
The group had been taking insolvency advice in case Tuesday's confidence vote went against it.
The City of London Police are investing the rape claims, alongside a series of other misconduct allegations from about a dozen workers.
The CBI also hired law firm Fox Williams to investigate the claims. As well as replacing the director-general, the group has made several changes to its board and is said to be considering redundancies.
