Former CBI boss trades blows with president over dismissal

theguardian.com:

The crisis at the scandal-hit Confederation of British Industry has burst into open conflict, as its recently sacked director general and current president argued over the grounds for his dismissal.

In separate interviews broadcast on Wednesday morning, Tony Danker – who was dismissed earlier this month as head of the CBI after allegations about his workplace conduct – said his reputation had “been totally destroyed”, while its president, Brian McBride, accused Danker of being “selective” in his account of his departure.

In his first interview since he was let go with immediate effect on 11 April after having led the body since November 2020, Danker told the BBC he believed he had been made “the fall guy” for a wider scandal at Britain’s most prominent business lobby group.

McBride, a former chief executive of Amazon UK, meanwhile, told the BBC that Danker had been dismissed after the CBI’s board “lost its trust and confidence in his ability to lead the organisation and represent the CBI in public”.

In early March the business lobby group hired a law firm to investigate complaints about Danker’s workplace conduct after it was approached by the Guardian about a formal complaint made against him in January. This was in addition to a number of alleged informal reports of concerns over his behaviour.

The board of the CBI said at the time of his dismissal it had determined that Danker’s conduct “fell short of that expected of the director general”. It added that there had been “serious failings” in how it had “acted as an organisation”.

After his dismissal, Danker apologised to colleagues and said he was “truly sorry” for making colleagues “feel uncomfortable”.

Speaking publicly on Wednesday for the first time since his dismissal,