Former CBI boss insists culture was not toxic

JESSICA FRANK-KEYES

FORMER CBI chief Dame Carolyn Fairbairn has insisted the organisation did not have a toxic culture as she yesterday broke her silence on the sexual misconduct scandal that has engulfed the body in recent months.

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has come under fire from allegations of sexual harassment and rape made by staff members, first published by the Guardian newspaper.

Now former director-general Dame Caroline, 62, who ran the CBI from 2015 to 2020, has spoken out about her time leading the organisation in an interview with The Sunday Times.

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“I feel a profound sense of shock and distress the serious allegation of rape was made on my watch,” she said.

Fairbairn suggested, however, the board may not have defended the CBI as strongly as it could have done.

“I maintain and believe that it was a really good culture, and that it was very far from being a toxic culture,” she said.