Tony Danker, director of the Confederation of British Industry, has been sacked with immediate effect following an investigation into allegations about his conduct in the workplace.
The CBI hired a law firm to investigate him after he was approached by The Guardian over a formal complaint filed in January, as well as a series of alleged informal reports of concerns about his behaviour.
Danker said he was “shocked to learn” of his dismissal, adding that he was “really sorry” for making his colleagues “uncomfortable.”
The business lobby group said it wanted to make it clear that Danker was not the target of other complaints recently reported by The Guardian. Those other claims from more than a dozen women allege various forms of sexual misconduct by high-level figures in the organization.
The CBI board said it had determined that Danker’s conduct “did not measure up to what was expected of the director general.”
Danker said in a statement on Twitter after the announcement: “I acknowledge the intense publicity the CBI has received following revelations of horrific events that occurred prior to my time in office.
“I was horrified to first hear about them last week… However, I was shocked to learn this morning that I had been fired from the CBI, rather than invited to present my position as originally confirmed.
“Many of the allegations against me have been misrepresented, but… I acknowledge that I inadvertently made several colleagues uncomfortable and I am very sorry. I want to wish my former CBI colleagues much success.”
Danker will be succeeded by the recently deceased CBI chief economist, Rain Newton-Smith.
The CBI board said in the statement, some of which reflected the totality of the allegations, rather than just those against Danker: “We apologize to the victims of this organizational failure, including those affected by the revulsion we have all felt at hear their stories. No one should feel unsafe in their workplace.”
Danker’s departure comes after the government suspended most of its engagement with Britain’s most prominent business lobby group, following reports of Danker’s conduct and separate allegations involving senior figures.
Both sets of claims have plunged the CBI into its biggest crisis since it was founded in 1965. The group described the allegations as “devastating” in a statement released Tuesday. “While investigations into several of these continue, it is now clear to all of us that there have been serious flaws in the way we have acted as an organization,” the board added in its statement.
The decision to fire Danker follows the conclusion of Phase 1 of the independent investigation by the Fox Williams law firm. The firm was hired after the Guardian’s first report on concerns about Danker’s conduct. He is still investigating separate allegations.
The Guardian previously reported that the formal complaint against Danker was made in January by a CBI employee. It is understood that she claimed that he had made unwanted contact with her, which he considered sexual harassment.
After the complaint, Danker initially continued to represent the organization in the media and at public events.
The CBI previously confirmed to The Guardian that it had received a formal complaint about Danker’s “workplace conduct” but chose not to escalate it to disciplinary proceedings.
The business lobby group added that three other CBI employees have been suspended while further investigations into other allegations.
The group confirmed that it is in contact with the police as it continues the next phase of its investigation into other allegations against other senior figures in the organization, and intends to fully cooperate with any police investigation.
Newton-Smith was the CBI’s chief economist from August 2014 until March this year, where she led its policy, analysis and survey teams and its work with the Treasury, before leaving to join Barclays as director general of oversight of strategy, policy and sustainability.
Last week, the CBI announced it was canceling or pausing its schedule of events with members, including its annual dinner on May 11, after The Guardian published the second set of allegations from the dozen women.
Previous dinners have brought together the UK’s most powerful business chiefs and cabinet ministers. Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey was due to speak, before the Bank determined it had better withdraw in light of the allegations, The Guardian understands.
The dinner was to take place at Old Billingsgate, a former fish market in the City of London, with tables of 10 on sale for £4,900.
The members, whose fees account for the bulk of the lobby group’s revenue, said they were reconsidering their ties to the CBI pending the outcome of the full Fox Williams investigation.
Speaking last week, ahead of the decision to sack Danker and after additional and separate allegations, Andy Wood, the chief executive of the brewing company Adnams, told BBC Radio 4 that the company had considered leaving the group. depression.
“I was discussing this with our senior management team just this week, so yeah, it’s on our agenda,” he said. “But we would prefer the CBI to sort itself out. He has to be setting the standards here. Where we are right now is unacceptable.”
