London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

CBI chief sets out its 'most grievous error' in sexual misconduct scandal

CBI chief sets out its 'most grievous error' in sexual misconduct scandal

The organisation's president admits a string of mistakes at the UK's largest employers' group, saying it had placed resolution ahead of people in sexual harassment cases.

The president of the scandal-hit CBI has admitted he does not know if the business lobby group can win back trust while setting out a series of shortcomings relating to the victims of sexual misconduct.

Brian McBride used an open letter to members to confirm that "a number of people" had been dismissed amid a continuing police investigation and admitted staff had been failed on many fronts over many years by the leadership.

He set out its response to the findings of a review, conducted by a law firm, into its handling of the affair and governance at the CBI.

Lawyers at Fox Williams said there were a few instances that the senior leadership had awareness of allegations made prior to their publication by the Guardian newspaper.

These included, the law firm found, a member of the CBI executive committee being aware of a complaint about the behaviour of a board member, which was raised with him directly.

Brian McBride has been president of the CBI for 10 months


No other board member was aware of the complaint at the time, it stated.

Mr McBride admitted the CBI's "most grievous" error was "trying to find resolution in sexual harassment cases when we should have removed those offenders from our business".

He wrote: "We didn't put in place sufficient preventative measures to protect our people from those seeking to cause harm and we didn't react properly when issues arose as a result.

"We failed to filter out culturally toxic people during the hiring process.

"We failed to conduct proper cultural onboarding of staff. Some of our managers were promoted too quickly without the necessary prior and ongoing training to protect our cultural values, and to properly react when those values were violated.

"In assessing performance, we paid more attention to competence than to behaviour. Our HR function was not represented at board level, which reduced escalation paths to senior levels of the company when these were most needed."

The law firm made several recommendations, including the appointment of a chief people officer to the board.

The CBI suspended all membership and policy activity on Friday after dozens of major members either suspended collaboration with the group, or quit.

The trigger for the exodus was an allegation of rape made by a second female worker, published that day by the Guardian.

Those to quit the CBI included NatWest, Aviva and the John Lewis Partnership - all led by women.

The extent of the challenges facing the CBI - and damage done to its reputation - has led commentators to question whether it has a future as a standalone force for UK businesses.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt piled more pressure on the beleaguered lobby group on Monday when he declared there was "no point" in engaging with the CBI during the crisis, adding that business needed a strong, representative voice at the table.

The chief executive of pub company Adnams, Andy Wood, told Sky News the CBI brand was "probably damaged beyond repair".

He said of the open letter: "I think a number of the things that are talked about in there should have been in place anyway. And I would have expected that of a representative organisation that is speaking for some of the largest and most well-known companies in the UK.

"So whilst I welcome the letter and the contrition, I'm not sure the, you know, zero tolerance of bullying and harassment, training leaders in recognising bullying and harassment and appointing a chief people officer, go quite far enough and not quite the root and branch reform that was talked about earlier in the week."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×