Dozens of big companies and trade bodies have announced that they plan to leave the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) after more than a dozen allegations of sexual misconduct from women who worked for the group.
Insurer Aviva became the first to leave the influential trade body, which claims to represent around 190,000 businesses across the UK.
Several companies also said they are or are understood to be reviewing their membership or suspending activities with the CBI.
These included PwC, Asda, Shell, National Grid, Lloyds Banking Group, Diageo, GSK and others.
Below is a list of some of the companies and organisations which have so far announced plans to leave the group or suspend their membership and the statements they have made, if any.
– Association of British Insurers
“It has become untenable to retain our membership in light of further serious allegations and we have informed the CBI of our decision to leave with immediate effect,” an ABI spokesperson said.
– Aviva
“In light of the very serious allegations made, and the CBI’s handling of the process and response, we believe the CBI is no longer able to fulfil its core function – to be a representative voice of business in the UK,” an Aviva spokesperson said.
“We have therefore regrettably terminated our membership with immediate effect.”
– BMW Group
“The BMW Group is concerned by the allegations relating to the CBI,” a spokesperson for BMW said.
“The group has therefore decided to terminate its membership with immediate effect.”
– British Beer & Pub Association
“Following further discussions with our board this afternoon we have taken the decision to terminate our membership with the CBI with immediate effect,” the BBPA tweeted.
– BT Group
“In light of the appalling allegations made, BT Group has decided to suspend its membership of the CBI with immediate effect,” a BT spokesperson said.
– Energy UK
“Energy UK has decided to terminate its membership with the CBI with immediate effect in light of the very serious allegations that have been reported,” an Energy UK spokesperson said.
“We know that these allegations will also be shocking and upsetting for the staff at the CBI that we work with. We will review the situation following the completion of the CBI’s investigations and the actions it takes as a result.”
– EY
“EY has terminated its membership of the CBI and all associated activities with immediate effect,” said an EY spokesperson.
– JLL
“We are terminating our membership of the CBI with immediate effect and have made them aware,” said Stephanie Hyde, UK chief executive at JLL.
“In light of the distressing allegations, which continue to point a culture that isn’t aligned to our values, our relationship with the CBI has become untenable.”
– John Lewis Partnership
“Due to the further very serious and ongoing allegations made relating to the CBI, we have decided to end our membership with immediate effect,” a spokesperson for the John Lewis Partnership said.
– Kingfisher
“Given the very serious and ongoing further allegations, we have taken the decision to end our CBI membership today,” a Kingfisher spokesperson said.
– Marks & Spencer
“We have paused our membership of the CBI while these allegations are investigated,” an M&S spokesperson said.
– Mastercard
“We have resigned our membership of the CBI. The allegations are extremely troubling and need to be addressed with immediacy by the proper authorities,” a spokesperson for Mastercard said.
– People’s Partnership
“Following the very serious allegations made, we have made the decision that we can no longer remain members of the CBI,” said People’s Partnership director of policy Phil Brown.
– Phoenix
“Further to the allegations reported this morning, we have taken the decision to resign our membership of the CBI with immediate effect,” a spokesperson said.
– Sainsbury’s
A spokesperson for Sainsbury’s confirmed that the business had paused its membership.
– Schroders
“At this time we do not feel the CBI is the right organisation to represent our views so we have decided to exit,” a Schroders spokesperson said.
– ScottishPower
“We are deeply concerned about these extremely serious allegations and are pausing our membership with the CBI with immediate effect,” a ScottishPower spokesperson said.
– Tesco
“We are deeply concerned by these very serious allegations and we have paused our membership of the CBI with immediate effect,” a Tesco spokesperson said.
– Unilever
“Due to the very serious and ongoing allegations, we can confirm that we have suspended our membership of the CBI,” a Unilever spokesperson said.
– Virgin Media O2
“While we respect the ongoing investigations taking place, these disturbing allegations and the way the situation has been handled is not representative of business in Britain,” a Virgin Media O2 spokesperson said.
“We have therefore informed the CBI that we are ending our membership.”
– Zurich UK
“We are deeply concerned about the allegations made about the CBI and have decided to terminate our membership with immediate effect,” a Zurich UK spokesperson said.
