Earlier this month, an investigation by The Guardian unveiled claims of sexual misconduct and a ‘toxic culture’ at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). The report revealed that over a dozen women have raised concerns regarding numerous different senior members of staff within the UK’s leading business lobby organisation.
The Financial Times (the FT) has now revealed that the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) has cancelled its CBI membership due to these allegations – becoming one of a ‘handful’ of members to have done so. BIBA which represents some 1,800 insurance intermediaries is reported to have notified the CBI last week that it is terminating its membership, according to a person familiar with the matter.
In an interview published by The Guardian, CBI president Brian McBride has since apologised for the spate of misconduct allegations.
The FT’s report also highlighted that many other members including Aon and EY have expressed ‘serious concerns’ about the ongoing situation at the CBI as they await the outcome of an independent investigation by law firm Fox Williams into the allegations. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) is also said to be monitoring the situation.
Following a separate Fox Williams investigation into alleged workplace misconduct, last week, the CBI sacked its director-general Tony Danker.
The CBI, which employs about 300 people across its UK and international offices is now fighting to retain members whose subscriptions largely account for its annual turnover of about £25 million.
The FT noted that the CBI has been ‘forced to cancel all external engagements, including its prestigious annual dinner, after government ministers and leading opposition politicians put a freeze on interactions with the group’.
The majority of CBI members are said to be awaiting the outcome of the Fox Williams report before making any decisions regarding their membership. However, the FT reported that the leader of one of the largest CBI members told the publication that the organisation cannot remain in limbo for too long.
The leader is quoted as having said: “For me it is ‘wait and see’, because if you have a spokesman organisation that’s now effectively muted, and if you’ve got a lobbying organisation that none of the people you’re lobbying are interested in, how long can that go on?”
On the subject of BIBA’s resignations, the CBI has said: “Any resignation is always a matter of regret. As highly valued members previously we hope — and believe — they [the BIBA] will leave the door open to reviewing that decision in the future.”
What are your thoughts on this story? Feel free to share them in the comment box below.
