CBI brand is broken ‘beyond repair’ by sex attack and misconduct claims
The future of the Confederation of British Industry is in the balance this weekend as one business leader warned its brand was “beyond repair”.
A CBI board statement on Friday said there was demand for “far reaching change” after allegations of sexual attacks and harassment first revealed by the Guardian. The organisation has suspended key activities until June after an exodus of business members.
It is now embroiled in a City of London police inquiry into an alleged rape at a CBI staff party and an inquiry by the law firm Fox Williams into allegations of harassment and sexual misconduct.
Andy Wood, chief executive of the Suffolk brewer Adnams, said the organisation which was founded by royal charter in 1965 had “probably run its course”. He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Saturday: “I think probably the CBI brand is now beyond repair. It will have to reinvent itself root and branch.
“This is deep-rooted cultural and behavioural issues and I think we’re going to have to move on to a new place. We have some terrific trade associations and they can represent our organisation for the time being.”
Adnams is among more than 60 firms and organisations that have cancelled or suspended CBI membership over the furore. They include BP, Shell, Rolls-Royce, Barclays, John Lewis and National Grid.
The CBI said in its 2021 annual report that its total income for the year was £25m, with £22.2m from subscriptions. It does not disclose its membership list, but claims to represent 190,000 members through trade associations and a much smaller number of direct members, reported to be around 1,500.
The Guardianrevealed claims this month that more than a dozen women claimed to have been victims of sexual misconduct by senior figures at the
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