CBI director-general to step aside amid misconduct allegations

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has announced that its director-general, Tony Danker, will be stepping away from his role due to an investigation into complaints concerning his conduct in the workplace. As a result, the CBI has hired Joanna Chatterton, the head of employment law at Fox Williams, to lead the investigation of these allegations. Meanwhile, the CBI’s chief UK policy director, Matthew Fell, has replaced Danker on an interim basis. This comes after the organisation was approached by the Guardian last week about a formal complaint that was made in January, as well as a number of other informal allegations that raised concerns over his behaviour. The Guardian reported that the formal complaint involved a female employee at the CBI who claimed that Danker made unwanted contact with her. It is understood that she considered this unwanted conduct to be sexual harassment. It is alleged that Danker sent a series of unwanted messages, some featuring sexually suggestive languages, over more than a year, as well as made unwanted verbal remarks in the office. While the director-general continued in his role and represented the organisation in the media and at public events, the CBI confirmed that it had received a formal complaint in January but opted not to escalate it to a disciplinary process. In a statement on the matter, Brian McBride, the CBI president, said: “On 2 March, the CBI was made aware of new reports regarding Tony Danker’s workplace conduct. We have now taken steps to initiate an independent investigation into these new matters. Tony Danker asked to step aside from his role as director general of the CBI while the independent investigation into these matters takes place. “The CBI takes all matters of workplace conduct extremely seriously but it is important to stress that until this investigation is complete, any new allegations remain unproven and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.” Danker said: “It’s been mortifying to hear that I have caused offence or anxiety to any colleague. It was completely unintentional, and I apologise profusely.” Danker has led the CBI since November 2020, having previously worked at the Guardian’s parent company, Guardian News and Media, as international director and chief strategy officer between 2010 and 2017.