Allegations of rape and sexual assault at the CBI are “absolutely shocking,” a shadow Labor Party secretary said, while firms continue to cut ties with the lobby group.
Dozens of companies have said they are leaving the group or suspending their membership over the allegations.
The CBI has said it will suspend key activities through June while it tries to refocus.
However, some business leaders have said the CBI’s brand may be “unrepairable”.
The lobby group has been rocked by the allegations, with a second woman claiming she was raped by CBI colleagues in a Guardian article on Friday.
Police were investigating an alleged rape at a CBI summer party in 2019 before the Guardian reported the second incident. There have also been allegations of other sexual misconduct.
On Sunday Jonathan Ashworth, Labor’s shadow jobs and pensions secretary, stopped calling for the group to be disbanded, saying instead it needed “fundamental” reform.
“The revelations, the stories were just absolutely shocking, weren’t they?” he said. “I feel for the people who were victims.”
He added that the group had “clearly deep-rooted problems” and needed “a fundamental process of review and reform”.
Both the government and the Labor Party have cut ties with the CBI for the time being.
A wave of companies have withdrawn their support from the lobby group.
companies that have quit include: John Lewis, BMW, Virgin Media O2, Vodafone, insurers Aviva, Zurich and Phoenix Group, banking company Natwest, payments company Mastercard; B&Q owner Kingfisher; media company ITV; insurance marketplace Lloyds of London; investment firm Schroders; auditor EY; catering giant Compass; consultant Accenture; and outsourcing giant Capita.
The Association of British Insurers and the British Insurance Brokers’ Association have also left, as has Energy UK, which represents energy suppliers.
Organizations that have suspended membership include: pharmaceutical giants GSK and AstraZeneca; airport operator Heathrow; retailers Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Marks & Spencer; Banking Group Santander; National Grid, Octopus Energy and Scottish Power; beverage giant Diageo; Roll’s-Royce; Unilever; BT; real estate company British Land; accounting giant PwC; staff group; British Beer and Pub Association; shell and BP; Nissan; Royal Mail; Above; Facebook owner meta; Paddy Power owner Flutter Entertainment; Nurofen Manufacturer Reckitt; British American Tobacco; and the FTSE 100 hotel group IHG, which owns Holiday Inn.
The CBI – which employs more than 300 people – said on Friday it would halt key activities and launch a review of its future role.
Adnams brewery boss Andy Wood told the BBC on Saturday the CBI brand is likely to be “unrepairable” and will need to “reinvent itself from the ground up”.
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