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New CBI boss says she is ‘profoundly sorry’ to women let down by group New CBI boss says she is ‘profoundly sorry’ to women let down by group
(about 3 hours later)
Rain Newton-Smith’s tweets come on day she became director general at Confederation of British Industry Rain Newton-Smith’s tweets came on day she became director general at Confederation of British Industry
The new boss of the Confederation of British Industry has said she is “profoundly sorry” to women who have been let down by the business group. The new boss of the Confederation of British Industry has apologised to the victims of sexual misconduct at the business lobby group, saying she is “profoundly sorry” and that she wants to “recognise the courage of the women who came forward”.
Rain Newton-Smith, a former CBI chief economist who has also worked at the Bank of England, returned to the business lobby group amid the fallout of a series of sexual misconduct allegations reported by the Guardian. Rain Newton-Smith, a former chief economist at the CBI, has returned to take the helm as the group fights for survival amid the fallout from a series of sexual misconduct allegations reported by the Guardian.
On her first day as director general of the CBI, Newton-Smith said in a series of tweets she also believed in the CBI’s work and was determined to “rebuild and reimagine” the organisation. In a series of tweets published on the morning of her first day as director general, Newton-Smith said she believed in the CBI’s work and was determined to “rebuild and reimagine” the organisation.
“You will have heard about the crisis that has shocked & saddened us all at the CBI,” she wrote. “I want to recognise the courage of the women who came forward & say how profoundly sorry I am for how our organisation let you down. I hope to reward your bravery by finding a better path forward.”“You will have heard about the crisis that has shocked & saddened us all at the CBI,” she wrote. “I want to recognise the courage of the women who came forward & say how profoundly sorry I am for how our organisation let you down. I hope to reward your bravery by finding a better path forward.”
You will have heard about the crisis that has shocked & saddened us all at the CBI. I want to recognise the courage of the women who came forward & say how profoundly sorry I am for how our organisation let you down. I hope to reward your bravery by finding a better path forward.You will have heard about the crisis that has shocked & saddened us all at the CBI. I want to recognise the courage of the women who came forward & say how profoundly sorry I am for how our organisation let you down. I hope to reward your bravery by finding a better path forward.
Her comments came as Emma Walmsley, the chief executive of GSK, Britain’s second-biggest drugmaker, condemned the allegations of sexual misconduct that have thrown the future of the CBI into doubt as “extremely shocking” and “pretty repulsive”. Walmsley spoke as GSK reported its latest quarterly results. The CBI’s longest-serving chief economist, Newton-Smith held the post until March, when she briefly left to join Barclays as a managing director working on governance strategy. She replaces Tony Danker, who was sacked earlier this month after separate allegations of misconduct were made against him.
GSK and its fellow pharma firm AstraZeneca were among a wave of companies who suspended their CBI membership on Friday, while others, including Aviva, NatWest and John Lewis, went further and cut ties completely. Appointed without an open recruitment process, and having held a senior role at the organisation before her departure, she faces an uphill battle to convince critics that she can turn a fresh page, and implement the radical changes needed to restore confidence. The government has paused all interaction with the CBI until its problems are resolved, while over 50 large businesses, including John Lewis and NatWest, have suspended or cancelled their membership.
The exodus came after the Guardian published fresh allegations of sexual misconduct at the lobby group, including a woman who said she was raped by two male colleagues at the CBI. Later that day the CBI suspended all membership and policy activity until an extraordinary meeting in June, when members will vote on its future and purpose. Meanwhile, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), which represents a wide range of companies and has an extensive network in the nations and regions, is waiting in the wings.
The CBI’s president, Brian McBride, said in a letter to members on Monday that the group failed to “filter out culturally toxic people” from its ranks, leading to “terrible consequences” including allegations of sexual harassment. The BCC president, technology entrepreneur Martha Lane Fox, has indicated that it is ready to step in. She told the BBC this week: “There are phenomenally strong business networks that can do the job of working together and representing themselves into government.”
Walmsley was asked on Wednesday why GSK had only suspended and not terminated its CBI membership. She replied: “I want to reiterate for GSK and for me personally: we have a categoric zero-tolerance approach to any form of sexual harassment in the workplace or be it anywhere else. Staff at the CBI, which employs 300 people, are growing increasingly concerned about the risk of job losses. Fears remain despite some reassurances that there would be no immediate job cuts in response to questions at an all-hands meeting on Monday.
“There’s no question that the allegations around the CBI are extremely shocking, pretty repulsive, and certainly I applaud wholeheartedly those who have the courage to speak up in a difficult environment.” Membership fees from businesses contribute the lion’s share of the CBI’s income – £22m of its £25m revenues in 2021. On Monday, CBI president Brian McBride told the Daily Telegraph that he foresaw a slimmed-down body if it survives past an extraordinary general meeting planned for June. “I think it’s likely to be smaller, because we’ll have less revenue. We’ll have to cut accordingly,” he told the newspaper.
Walmsley said GSK would reassess its CBI membership in the coming months once the organisation had taken “corrective action”, adding: “They need and absolutely must implement steps to drive profound change at pace carefully and thoroughly.” Emma Walmsley, the chief executive of GSK, Britain’s second-biggest drugmaker, became the latest industry leader to air concerns on Wednesday, condemning the allegations as “extremely shocking” and “pretty repulsive”.
McBride’s letter on Monday came after the law firm Fox Williams conducted a formal investigation and reported its conclusions and recommendations to the CBI board, including treating culture as a strategic issue and key business risk, training for all staff and a new reporting line to raise concerns. Speaking during a financial results call for her firm, Walmsley said: “I want to reiterate for GSK and for me personally: we have a categoric zero-tolerance approach to any form of sexual harassment in the workplace.
Newton-Smith, after a brief spell at Barclays, replaces Tony Danker, who was sacked as the director general of the CBI after separate allegations of misconduct were made against him. Danker said in an interview with the BBC last week that he felt he had been “the fall guy” for allegations unrelated to his own conduct and that his reputation had been “trashed”. Walmsley said GSK would reassess its decision to pause its CBI membership in the coming months once the organisation had taken “corrective action”, adding: “They need and absolutely must implement steps to drive profound change at pace carefully and thoroughly.”
GSK reported a 3% drop in first-quarter revenue because of a 98% fall in sales of its Covid-19 treatment Xevudy after the US regulator withdrew its authorisation for the drug and other antibody treatments in late January because they did not work on the new dominant strains of the virus. The drugmaker has decided to pull out of all its Covid antibody and vaccine projects. Danker said in an interview with the BBC last week that he felt he had been “the fall guy” for allegations unrelated to his own conduct and that his reputation had been “trashed”.
However, the results were better than analysts had expected and GSK stuck to its full-year outlook. Walmsley said it was only “days away” from getting US regulatory approval for its vaccine for RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) in older adults, which leads to thousands of hospitalisations and deaths each year.