- By Noor Nanji
- Business reporter, BBC News
Image source, Parliament of the UK
The CBI’s era has passed and it is no longer fit for purpose, according to former Barclays director Baroness Wheatcroft.
Peer said it’s “getting harder” for business lobby groups to represent the likes of Amazon and a small manufacturing company.
The CBI and its future are under wraps following allegations of misconduct, including sexual assault.
The City of London police are investigating a number of allegations.
Three CBI employees have been suspended while the claims are investigated.
The BBC has contacted the CBI for comment.
Baroness Wheatcroft, who is also the former editor-in-chief of the Wall Street Journal Europe, told the BBC’s Radio 4 Today program that the CBI “will probably survive, but in a reduced form”.
“Should it live? I think its time has probably passed honestly,” he said.
“Representing the wide spread of members it claims is very difficult and I think the interests of Amazon and a small manufacturing business in the north of England are too different now to put them under the same umbrella of accountants and consultants. and banks don’t really make sense and take longer,” he said.
Several major UK businesses have told the BBC they are “deeply concerned” about the allegations the CBI is facing.
Several have said they will wait until law firm Fox Williams’ investigation into the claims is completed before they make a decision about their CBI membership.
Meanwhile the government has stopped any engagement with the CBI until the Fox Williams investigation is over.
Baroness Wheatcroft said the CBI’s original purpose was “to be a voice that advocates the need for business and enterprise to be a force for good”.
But he questioned whether the CBI was now in a position to teach companies how to become a force for good.
He added that it is important not to rush to judge the claims faced by the CBI, the most serious date back to a party in the summer of 2019, adding that, at the moment, they are “unproven “.
Indeed, the CBI sacked director general Tony Danker this week, following a complaint by a female employee in January and allegations from other staff members that emerged last month.
Mr Danker has not been charged over the claims which are being investigated by City of London police.
His conduct was found to fall short of the director general’s expectations, according to an investigation by Fox Williams.