‘Men are nervous working with women’ claims ex-Tesco chair after facing accusations of inappropriate behaviour
19 June 2023, 16:26
The former Tesco chairman, who left the company over accusations of inappropriate behaviour, has now claimed men feel they need to be “very cautious” when interacting with women in the workplace.
John Allan, 74, has claimed that men are “increasingly nervous about working with women” after he faced allegations of inappropriate behaviour last month.
Mr Allan stepped down as the chairman of Tesco in May after he was accused of inappropriate remarks and touching, which he has denied – but he has admitted to making a comment about one of his colleague’s bodies.
He had been head of the board since 2015.
But since stepping down, the former CBI boss has alleged men are growing “nervous” in the workplace around women.
He said: “A lot of men say to me they’re getting increasingly nervous about working with women, mentoring women, something I’ve done a lot of right through my career.
“What quite a few people are saying to me, and saying to others that I know, is that they’re going to be very cautious in future about how they interact with women in the business world.”
Mr Allan stepped down after it was reported that four women had accused him of inappropriate behaviour. He faced accusations of touching two staff members inappropriately in 2019 and 2022, where he allegedly “patted a woman on the bottom”.
He also lost his role as the chairman of Barrett Development after the allegations emerged for risks of creating a distraction.
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Read more: John Allan to stand down as Barratt chairman after misconduct allegations
Despite the accusations made, Mr Allan has maintained he is “completely innocent” and has claimed he has been “propelled under the nearest bus” and not been “fairly treated”.
He added: “I think the companies that I was chair of… frankly felt they had to be seen to be doing something, and the simplest and easiest thing was to propel me under the nearest bus.”
Although Tesco said it had made “no findings of wrongdoing” related to its former chairman, there were concerns the accusations would become a distraction.
It comes after the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) also faced accusations of inappropriate behaviour, which Mr Allan was president of until 2020.
Mr Allan has argued that women’s progress in the workplace could be negatively impacted by how companies are handling sexual misconduct claims.
He said: “I think if it leads to over caution, it will actually be a negative.”
In May it was reported that a letter of support was being developed to show solidarity with Mr Allan and how he had helped women throughout the duration of his career.
