The government gives the CBI the cold shoulder as a smut scandal engulfs a business lobby group

THE government has given the CBI the cold shoulder as a sordid scandal engulfs the corporate lobby.

Yesterday the Treasury and Department for Business and Trade canceled all meetings with the Confederation of British Industry over allegations of rape, drug use and other sexual misconduct.

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Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey had already pulled out of a dinner before the CBI announced it was taking a “temporary pause” in its schedule of events.

The new allegations uncovered by The Guardian include sexting, butt-touching and widespread cocaine use.

A woman claimed she was raped at a summer boat party in 2019.

The allegations come just weeks after CBI Director General Tony Danker resigned following allegations of his own wrongdoing.

The new claims relate to alleged events before Mr. Danker took over the top job at the CBI in 2020.

The CBI offers a voice to up to 190,000 companies, but industry leaders believe the scandal is putting its future in jeopardy – and say its toxic culture would likely hurt Britain’s business ties.

One FTSE 100 company said it had “raised concerns directly with the CBI”.

A letter from the CBI to members, seen by The Sun, seeks to reassure them that the allegations are being “handled with the utmost seriousness”.

A CBI spokesman said preliminary results from the first phase of the independent investigation are expected shortly after Easter, adding: “We understand the government’s decision to pause engagement pending the outcome.”

VOOM ‘N’ BOOM ON AUTO REGS

Car and van sales have generated some excitement over the past month, with registrations nearly a fifth higher than a year ago.

Supply chain issues have caused factory delays since the pandemic began, meaning drivers have had to wait long times for new vehicles.

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Around 287,000 cars were registered in March, and the market has grown for the eighth month in a row.

But sales are still nearly halving from the average pre-pandemic figure.

New registrations of medium-duty delivery vans rose by 66 percent to 9,276.

Mike Hawes of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders welcomed the van market’s solid first quarter “given its importance in keeping UK businesses moving”.

Electric cars had their best month ever with 46,000 units sold.

Tesla Model Y was the top seller in March, although Nissan’s Qashqai is the overall leader for 2023.

UBS DEAL JOBS RISK

UBS’s vice president yesterday refused to rule out thousands of job cuts following the £2.6billion takeover of investment bank Credit Suisse.

Amid fears of up to 25,000 jobs being cut worldwide, Lukas Gahwiler told shareholders “there will remain a great deal of uncertainty”.

Credit Suisse investors want bosses to go to jail, claiming their stocks are as worthless as a pack of empty nutshells.

Mr Gahwiler said: “I can understand why people are confused, even angry.”

MORE MAIL HURT

MORE Strikes loom at Royal Mail after 11 months of no-wage talks collapsed.

The postal group has warned that strikes and heavy losses could mean it is placed under administration.

Royal Mail is currently losing £1m a day and losses so far this year are £295m, of which £200m is due to strikes.

A spokesman said it was “deeply concerned” that talks had collapsed following an improved offer of a three-year 10 per cent salary deal with a £500 or £1,500 bonus.

FOUR in five UK employers pay men 12.2 per cent more than women.

That means women earn around 90p for every £1 male colleagues earn.

The government data does not compare pay for equal work but reflects the higher proportion of men in senior positions.

‘CLOUDS’ CUCKOO

AMAZON and Microsoft face renewed scrutiny after telecoms regulator Ofcom said it would appeal to the UK competition authority.

The two tech giants control over two-thirds of the cloud services market, which offers remote storage of data — like photos or email — for a fee.

Ofcom said it had uncovered “concerned practices” by some of the world’s biggest tech companies.

One is “concerned” that Amazon and Microsoft charge “significantly higher fees” and that their dominance makes it difficult for customers to switch.

FRANCO IS A JAPAN CO.

THE company behind Greek restaurant chains Franco Manca and The Real is set to be gobbled up by a Japanese company in a £93million takeover.

Fulham Shore said it accepted a 14.15 pa share offer from Japan’s Toridoll, causing prices to rise by a third to 13.9 pence.

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There are 27 Real Greek sites and 70 Franco Mancas in the UK.

Toridoll started out as a grilled meat vendor — known as yakitori in Japan — and has since expanded to more than 1,700 outlets around the world.

Fulham Shore expects the company to post sales of around £100m this year as its restaurants recover sharply.

Franco Manca plans to expand by selling more pizzas in supermarkets.

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS CAN?

CO-OP bosses have said they have a “big job” to do to make their budget range of groceries more widely available to shoppers.

The retailer has faced criticism from shoppers who say they are struggling to actually find the cheaper goods on the shelves.

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The group launched its Honest Value range in 2020, touting it as a way to help its customers weather inflation.

But only half of the shops have more than 18 products in the range.

Only a handful of Honest Value products, including 68p white bread loaves and 75p packs of spaghetti, are available in the remaining stores, which normally stock around 3,000 products.

Consumer Group Which? recently called on retailers to ensure their best-value ranges are widely available to provide better access to affordable groceries.

Catherine Shuttleworth of marketing agency Savvy said: “Value isn’t value if you can’t buy it.

“Availability is something the cooperative can control.”

Yesterday the cooperative announced its profits have risen to £247m after selling petrol stations to Asda.