New CBI boss says she saw sexual harassment and acted

The new CBI boss raised concerns over sexual harassment when she was in a senior role at the group, she has said.

"Whenever I have seen sexual harassment, I have acted and I raised those issues," said Rain Newton-Smith.

The revelation comes after the CBI admitted on Monday it hired "culturally toxic" staff and failed to fire people who sexually harassed colleagues.

But Ms Newton-Smith, who has been appointed to save the group, said she did not feel there was a toxic culture.

"That's not how it felt when I was here, but at the same time I, like everyone else, have read the stories of the survivors of rape in the papers from the outside, and I know that something has gone badly wrong," she told the BBC.

The future of the CBI, which claims to represent 190,000 businesses employing some seven million people, is in the balance after a series of workplace misconduct, harassment and sexual assault problems, including two allegations of rape.

The lobbying group, prior to the current crisis, was seen as the voice of business in the UK and a key player in discussing economic policies with the government.

But dozens of firms including John Lewis and BMW have terminated their memberships, while others such as Tesco and Sainsbury's have suspended engagement with the group.

Ms Newton-Smith admitted she had weeks to earn back the trust of businesses so that the organisation could survive.

She started her new role on Wednesday, in a return to the CBI where she was previously for almost nine years, and was also on the CBI's executive committee during the time of the misconduct allegations.

An investigation by the law firm Fox Williams, commissioned by the group following the emergence of claims, found a failure to act allowed a "very small minority" of staff to believe they could get away with harassment or violence against women. The embattled lobby group has said it dismissed a number of people.

But in her first interview in the new role, Ms Newton-Smith, who said she would not speak about specific incidents, said when she had seen sexual harassment or if any staff member approached her she "acted".

"When I did see things, I acted on them and I supported staff who needed to raise them, and I think that's critically, absolutely critically important," she added.

"I wouldn't be coming back into this job if I thought there were things that I had done or hadn't done or hadn't acted thoroughly on it. So that's what's really important to me."

The government has also suspended any activity with the lobby group, with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has said there is "no point" engaging with the CBI when its own members had deserted them.

Some have questioned whether the new director-general, being a former employee and executive committee member, is the right person to lead the organisation through the scandal.

Baroness Morrissey, a well-known City fund manager who campaigns for female inclusion at companies, agreed the CBI was "finished".

Asked how long she had to turn around the CBI, Ms Newton-Smith said that the group had set itself a deadline in "early June" to call back its remaining members for an emergency meeting and update them on the progress made. The CBI has suspended all of its policy and membership activities until that month.

But the new boss warned: "I am not for a moment saying that the rebuild of our culture and our organisation is going to be complete by early June.

"But what I need to do and show is that we have done enough to earn back trust from businesses.

"People are hurting in this organisation and they also need time to heal. My plea to businesses is these things take time."

Ms Newton-Smith told the Financial Times she was sure the organisation would be renamed as part of its efforts to reform.

The CBI - the Confederation of British Industry - is one of the UK's most prominent lobby groups and, according to its former president Paul Drechsler, was instrumental in protecting millions of jobs during the Covid pandemic by helping the rapid roll-out of the furlough scheme.

The CBI campaigned against Brexit. Once the UK voted to leave the European Union, it lobbied the government to secure a trade and co-operation agreement.

Another function of the CBI is to promote and share best practice among its members.

Founded in 1965, today it employs around 300 people. Its director generals have been predominately male with the exception of Dame Carolyn Fairbairn, who led the group between 2015 and 2020 and now Ms Newton-Smith.