Scandal-hit CBI accuses sacked boss Tony Danker of being ‘selective’ over his account of claims

A war of words has broken out between the Confederation of British Industry and the director-general it sacked over misconduct allegations.

Yesterday Tony Danker claimed he had been made the ‘fall guy’ for a wider crisis engulfing the lobby group.

But it emerged today his views differ from that of the CBI, whose president says he is being ‘selective’ with his account of the accusations levelled against him.

Mr Danker said the group had thrown him ‘under a bus’ with its treatment of him but sources said he had left out key details.

The insider said these elements included the fact the karaoke party to which he invited young employees was mostly to women under the age of 35.

Fired boss of the Confederation of British Industry Tony Danker says his ‘reputation has been totally destroyed’ following sex misconduct allegations

And Mr Danker’s reveal that he used Instagram to contact employees over lockdown to build ‘rapport’ did not mention the CBI was concerned about him doing so repeatedly, the Times reports.

Brian McBride, president of the CBI, said: ‘I think Tony’s description there was selective. Tony and I had a conversation when he was dismissed. I followed it up with a legal letter explaining everything in detail — there’s more in that letter than we’ve just talked about.’

A source added Mr Danker was perceived as being ‘over-friendly and by some to be inappropriately so, he crossed lines with quite a few people’.

Police are investigating after the business organisation fired Mr Danker and suspended three other employees when its board said his conduct ‘fell short’ of what was expected of him.

In his first interview since his firing on April 11, the former CBI boss told the BBC that his name had been wrongly associated with claims that had ‘totally trashed’ his reputation – and insisted that he had not propositioned anyone at work.

Mr Danker during his BBC interview. Police are investigating after the CBI fired him and suspended three other staff, claiming his conduct 'fell short' of what was expected of him

Mr Danker during his BBC interview. Police are investigating after the CBI fired him and suspended three other staff, claiming his conduct ‘fell short’ of what was expected of him

In his first interview since his firing on April 11, Mr Danker - pictured with Rishi Sunak - accused the business group of 'throwing me under the bus - then reversing back over me'

In his first interview since his firing on April 11, Mr Danker – pictured with Rishi Sunak – told the BBC his name had been wrongly associated with separate claims

He also told the broadcaster his termination letter had cited four reasons for his dismissal: For organising a secret and private karaoke party for 15 people, for viewing the Instagram accounts of CBI staff, for sending non-work related messages to staff and for inviting junior staff to breakfasts, lunches or one-to-one meetings.

While Mr Danker acknowledged he had made some staff feel ‘very uncomfortable’ and he apologised for that, he insisted he had ‘never used sexually suggestive language with people’ at the company.

‘You know, there was an incident, somebody raised a complaint about unwanted contact, which was verbal contact,’ he added. ‘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 believed he had been assigned as ‘the fall guy’ for a wider crisis engulfing the lobby group which is facing a number of claims – some of which predate his time at the CBI.

He said his reputation had been ‘totally trashed’ because these claims – which included drug use as well as serious sexual assault – emerged a matter of weeks after the CBI disclosed that it was looking into separate allegations of misconduct against him.

He admitted to messaging around 200 individual staff members at the company but insisted it was to try and build ‘rapport’ during lockdown and with colleagues who continued to work from home.

Former CBI chief economist Rain Newton-Smith, who left the organisation last month to join Barclays, has replaced Mr Danker as director-general

Former CBI chief economist Rain Newton-Smith, who left the organisation last month to join Barclays, has replaced Mr Danker as director-general

Detective Chief Superintendent Richard Waight had earlier confirmed that the City of London Police approached the CBI following media reports of misconduct, but their investigations were still at a ‘very early stage’.

Mr Danker has responded to his dismissal by saying the allegations against him had been ‘distorted’, tweeting: ‘I recognise the intense publicity the CBI has suffered following the revelations of awful events that occurred before my time in office.

‘I was appalled to learn about them for the first time last week. I was nevertheless shocked to learn this morning that I had been dismissed from the CBI, instead of being invited to put my position forward as was originally confirmed.

‘Many of the allegations against me have been distorted, but I recognise that I unintentionally made a number of colleagues feel uncomfortable and I am truly sorry about that.’

The trade body has been rocked by allegations of a toxic workplace culture since Mr Danker was accused last month of allegedly making unwanted contact with a woman who works for the CBI.

She considered the contact to be sexual harassment, The Guardian reported at the time. The group began an investigation into his behaviour and he agreed to step down in the meantime. It said a legal firm has completed the first part of this investigation. 

Mr Danker has been replaced as director-general by Rain Newton-Smith, the group’s former chief economist, who left last month to join Barclays. 

‘Tony Danker is dismissed with immediate effect following the independent investigation into specific complaints of workplace misconduct against him,’ the CBI said. 

‘The board wishes to make clear he is not the subject of any of the more recent allegations in The Guardian but has determined that his own conduct fell short of that expected of the director-general.’

It comes after The Guardian said it was approached by more than a dozen women who claimed to be victims of various forms of sexual misconduct by senior members of the CBI who were not Mr Danker. One woman said she was raped at a staff party. 

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