The director-general of the Confederation of British Industry Tony Danker has been sacked following an independent investigation into complaints of workplace misconduct against him.
Three other CBI employees have also been suspended pending further investigation into a number of ongoing allegations.
“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,” a statement read.
Following those recent allegations the main business lobby group for employers in the UK, at the heart of the British establishment, had cancelled all its external events last week as misconduct accusations mounted.
Government officials had also pulled out of meetings with the group and the big four accountancy firm EY had ended the secondment of one of its employees to the organisation.
Law firm Fox Williams had been hired to investigate the allegations made against Mr Danker. That investigation will move into “the next phase” of its inquiry, the CBI said.
“The CBI is liaising with the police and has made clear its intention to cooperate fully with any police investigations”, a statement read.
Mr Danker had stepped aside in early March as the allegations were investigated. Before working at the CBI he held positions in management consultancy firm McKinsey and helped create the Labour government’s financial crisis economic rescue package in 2008.
In its work to represent 190,000 UK businesses, the CBI has lobbied for policies to encourage women into the workforce.
