London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, May 09, 2025

Sacked CBI boss says reputation 'totally destroyed'

Sacked CBI boss says reputation 'totally destroyed'

The former boss of business group giant the CBI says his "reputation has been totally destroyed" after being fired over complaints about his behaviour.

Tony Danker acknowledged he had made some staff feel "very uncomfortable", adding: "I apologise for that."

But he said his name had been wrongly associated with separate claims, including rape, that allegedly occurred at the CBI before he joined.

The CBI did not comment but has said he was dismissed on strong legal ground.

In his first interview since being fired on 11 April, Mr Danker said his termination letter had cited four reasons for dismissal:

* Organising a secret and private karaoke party for 15 people after a Christmas work event

* Viewing the Instagram accounts of CBI staff

* Sending non-work related messages to staff on work messaging platforms

* Inviting junior staff to breakfasts, lunches or one-on-one meetings

"I have never used sexually suggestive language with people at the CBI," he said. "You know, there was an incident somebody raised a complaint about unwanted contact, which was verbal contact.

"There was never any physical contact. I've never had any physical contact. I've never used any sexual language. I've never propositioned anybody," Mr Danker said.

Sexual harassment is unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature, says Alison Loveday, an employment lawyer at Lockett Loveday McMahon Solicitors.

"It must have either violated someone's dignity, whether it was intended or not, or created an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for them, whether it was intended or not.

Mr Danker accepted that some staff may have found his approach at work uncomfortable and apologised for that - but he didn't believe his immediate sacking was warranted.

Instead, he claimed he had been made "the fall guy" for a wider crisis engulfing the CBI.

The lobby group is facing a number of claims from 2019 including drug use as well as serious sexual assault which is being investigated by City of London police.

Mr Danker said his reputation has been "totally trashed" because these claims emerged a matter of weeks after the CBI disclosed that it was looking into separate allegations of misconduct against him.

The CBI has said Mr Danker's dismissal followed an independent investigation into specific complaints of workplace misconduct against him.

Mr Danker admits that he did look at the Instagram profiles and stories of "a very small number of CBI staff, men and women".

"The CBI already knew that some people thought that that was intrusive, and I get that," he said.

"I get that people felt that it was wrong, that I was looking at their admittedly completely public Instagram stories", he added.

Mr Danker who joined the CBI in November 2020 also acknowledged he had messaged around 200 individual staff members, but said it was part of building "rapport" during lockdown as well as with colleagues who continue to work from home.

He said these messages said things such as ''hi, how are you? How was your weekend? Show me pictures of your dogs or your babies".

But he believed some people had thought the messages inappropriate, and they hadn't realised Mr Danker had "been doing this to everyone to try and build rapport."

Finally, he said that the invitations to junior staff for lunches and breakfasts were part of a CBI mentoring scheme called the Shadowing Programme. Mr Danker said both male and female employees were invited by Mr Danker to discuss their careers.

In Mr Danker's recollection, the "private" karaoke party came after people suggested it after a CBI Christmas party in 2021.

Mr Danker said he booked a room for 15 people which was "the largest I could get".

"I emailed everybody saying 'here's the address', no cameras allowed', because everybody said to me 'I don't want to be filmed singing karaoke'," he said.

Asked why he has chosen to speak publicly, Mr Danker said he'd rather not talk to the media.

But he said: "It is just not okay to throw somebody under the bus and ask them to be the fall guy when their entire reputation is destroyed."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Historic Papal Conclave Set to Commence in Rome
Huge Copper, Gold, and Silver Discovery in Argentina and Chile — But the Profits Go Abroad
Prince Harry is pleading for reconciliation — but the royals are just as sick of his victimhood as everyone else
The Road to Freedom: She Protested Putin, Escaped House Arrest, and Survived a 2,800-Kilometer Journey
OpenAI's Flip-Flop: No Longer Going Commercial, Back to Nonprofit, After Musk Lawsuit and Backlash
“Trump Supporter” Aims to Bring a MAGA-Style Shift to Romania
First From China: Zhao Xintong Wins the Snooker World Championship
Nvidia Faces Billion-Dollar Losses – Warns: China Is on Its Way to Becoming an AI Superpower
Trump Rules Out Third Term, Names JD Vance and Marco Rubio as Potential Successors
Mexico Says ‘No’ to U.S. Troops: President Sheinbaum Rejects Trump’s Offer to Fight Cartels
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK Storms the Map, Wrecking the Two-Party Monopoly
DOGE: Reimagining Government Operations with AI
Common Sense Returns to Britain's Legal System: UK Supreme Court Declares a Woman Is… a Woman
Beijing Says U.S. Is ‘Reaching Out’ for Tariff Talks Amid Soaring Trade Tensions
U.K. Court Rejects Prince Harry’s Final Appeal Over Police Security
Prince Harry’s Heartfelt Outburst Rocks the Royal Family
Trump Shares AI-Generated Image of Himself as… Pope, Prompting Outrage Reaction
Transgender Swimmer Secures Five Gold Medals at U.S. Masters Championship
Prince Harry: “I Want Reconciliation with My Family”
Germany's Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party has now been officially labeled “right-wing extremist” by the federal office for the so-called “protection of the constitution.”
Amazon Launches Satellite Internet Service Amidst Competition with SpaceX
Transformative Changes in Women's Wrestling: The Rise of WWE Superstars
The Rush to the White Gold: Global Investment Surge in Natural Hydrogen Exploration
This is a day in Spain without electricity and internet
Reform UK Surprises in British Elections, Challenging Traditional Two-Party System
180-Year-Old Christian University in South Carolina Announces Closure Due to Unmet $6 Million Fundraising Goal
Brazilian Woman Jailed for Fourteen Years for Writing “You Lost, Idiot” on Statue During Protest
Trump Administration Removes National Security Adviser Mike Waltz Amid Signal Chat Controversy
Dutch Politician Eva Vlaardingerbroek Receives Spyware Threat Alert from Apple
Paramount Board Considers Settlement in Trump’s $20 Billion Lawsuit Over "60 Minutes" Interview
U.S. Economy Shrink in Trump’s First Quarter as Tariff Policy Raises Questions
Deadline Looms for RTS Meter Replacement: Hundreds of Thousands at Risk of Heating Disruption
Sweden Grapples with Deadly Gun Violence: Suspect Arrested After Three Young Men Killed in Uppsala Hair Salon
Walz Reveals Why Harris Chose Him as Her Running Mate and Reflects on Democratic Losses
Spain Restores Power After Unprecedented Nationwide Blackout
Carney Secures Liberal Mandate in Canada’s Federal Election
Death Penalty Sought as Luigi Manion Pleads Not Guilty in CEO Murder Case
President Trump contacts Jeff Bezos after reports of Amazon considering listing tariff surcharges; company clarifies no such plan for main platform
Spain and Portugal Recover from Massive Blackout
Liverpool Clinches Record-Equalling 20th English League Title Under Arne Slot
Singapore Politicians Warn Against Foreign Interference in Election
Driver Ploughs into Vancouver Festival Crowd, Killing Nine
Depression, Fear of Defamation, and a Tragic End: New Details on Virginia Giuffre’s Suicide
“Sharia for UK, Allah Akbar!”
Massive Explosion at Iran's Bandar Abbas Port Linked to Suspicious Chemical Shipments
Incident Reflection: A Harsh Reality Check
Pakistani migrants to Danish man: “ “We have 5 children while you have 1 or 2. In 10 years, there will be more Pakistanis than Danes here.“
Clashes Erupt in London as Tensions Rise Between Indian and Pakistani Communities
Specialized anti-drone weapons deployed among security personnel Ahead of Papal Funeral
How do you fix this culture?
×