CBI president faces blow as fund manager abrdn weighs exit

The president of the CBI is facing fresh embarrassment as a company of which he is a director weighs bringing its membership of the scandal-hit business lobby group to an end.

Sky News has learnt that abrdn, the FTSE 100 fund manager, has been debating whether to terminate its status as a CBI member once a CBI-commissioned review of sexual abuse allegations against staff members is completed.

Alternatively, it could decide not to renew its membership when it expires at the end of this year, according to one source.

Brian McBride, the CBI president, has been a non-executive director of abrdn since 2020, but is due to stand down at the company’s annual meeting next month, according to an announcement earlier this year.

A City source said that abrdn, which had previously been a member of the CBI, had re-joined the group after the move was requested internally by Mr McBride.

If abrdn did decide to cease being a CBI member, it would be acutely embarrassing to Mr McBride, although his imminent exit from the board would undoubtedly alleviate that to an extent.

Mr McBride’s performance as the CBI president has been widely criticised by the group’s members as it battles the gravest crisis in its history.

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He said only “a handful” of members had cancelled their membership, with the British Insurance Brokers’ Association among the few to have been identified.

A string of blue-chip companies, including Rolls-Royce and Marks & Spencer, have raised public concerns about the crisis.

Last week, it sacked Tony Danker, its director general, after saying it had lost confidence in his ability to lead the organisation amid claims about his personal conduct.

Mr Danker told the BBC this week he had been “thrown under the bus” and said the allegations against him did not merit his dismissal.

He also apologised for making a number of CBI employees “uncomfortable”.

The Guardian, which revealed the allegations about Mr Danker’s behaviour as well as a spate of claims about rape and drug abuse at the organisation, reported on Friday that a second woman had alleged that she was raped while working there.

Three employees have been suspended, while a police investigation is under way.

The CBI said this week that the second phase of an inquiry by the law firm Fox Williams would conclude imminently.

“The board will be communicating its response to this and other steps we are taking to bring about the wider change that is needed early next week,” the group said on Thursday.

Business leaders have lined up in recent weeks to denounce its handling of the crisis, saying it had been too slow to apologise and had erred by appointing an insider, Rain Newton-Smith, as Mr Danker’s successor.

It has also asked Jill Ader, an existing CBI board member, to oversee a review of its governance.

Many now doubt that it can survive, questioning its ability to fulfil its mandate as ‘the voice of business’ during what could be a protracted period of exclusion from engagement with government.

Some members have also expressed reservations about whether the CBI would be able to accept subscription fees during a live police investigation.

An abrdn spokesperson said: “We have been members of the CBI previously and as part of a regular review of our trade body memberships, took the decision to re-join at the turn of the year.

“abrdn takes its own decisions regarding participation in any trade body membership.

“Like other members, we await the outcome of the current review, and look forward to understanding the CBI’s plans for dealing with the issues that have emerged.”

The CBI has also been contacted about its ability to accept subscription base during the police probe.

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