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Presidents Club to disband after claims of harassment at 'hostess' gala Presidents Club to close down after claims of harassment at 'hostess' gala
(about 1 hour later)
Charity says remaining funds will be distributed and no more fundraising events will be held Guests distance themselves from charity and hospitals say they will return donations
Matthew Weaver, Rob Davies and
Phillip Inman and Matthew Weaver
Sarah Marsh
Wed 24 Jan 2018 17.46 GMTWed 24 Jan 2018 17.46 GMT
First published on Wed 24 Jan 2018 12.23 GMTFirst published on Wed 24 Jan 2018 12.23 GMT
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The Presidents Club Charitable Trust has said it will hold no further fundraising events after allegations of sexual harassment at a gala last week. A charity that counted billionaires, celebrities and politicians among its high-society patrons has been forced to close down following “deplorable” revelations about a men-only fundraising dinner where hired hostesses were allegedly groped and sexually harassed.
The charity, which came under heavy scrutiny after it was claimed that women working at the annual charity dinner had been groped and subjected to sexual harassment, said in a statement on Wednesday afternoon: “The trustees have decided that the Presidents Club will not host any further fundraising events. Guests rushed to distance themselves from the Presidents Club charity, while beneficiaries including Great Ormond Street children’s hospital vowed to hand back donations, as they reacted to reports of behaviour by wealthy guests at an annual dinner hosted by the comedian David Walliams.
“Remaining funds will be distributed in an efficient manner to children’s charities and it will then be closed.” Amid mounting anger at details of an event whose guest list featured luminaries of the British establishment such as the retail tycoon Sir Philip Green and Dragons’ Den entrepreneur Peter Jones, the charity announced it would distribute its remaining funds and close down.
Theresa May continued to come under pressure to sack a member of her government after it emerged he had attended the men-only charity fundraising event last week at the Dorchester hotel in London. The education minister Nadhim Zahawi also faced calls to resign for attending the lavish dinner without reporting any concerns, while Theresa May’s spokesperson said she was “uncomfortable” about allegations of what had taken place.
The allegations of guests groping hostesses have prompted widespread disgust from MPs of all parties and calls for the resignation of the children and families minister Nadhim Zahawi, who admitted attending the event. The Presidents Club event at London’s exclusive Dorchester hotel last Thursday saw guests dine on smoked salmon with caviar and 34-day-aged beef, accompanied by Dom Pérignon champagne, before bidding in an auction to raise money for good causes.
Downing Street confirmed that David Meller, a co-chair of the club, had been asked to stand down from the board of the Department for Education and his role as chair of the government’s apprenticeship delivery board. But according to an investigation by the Financial Times, members of the all-male guest list also subjected some of the 130 women employed as hostesses for the evening to sustained sexual harassment.
The prime minister is facing calls to sack Zahawi, who expressed his shock at the alleged behaviour of fellow guests. The undercover FT reporter Madison Marriage said she had been groped repeatedly, while other women had been invited by diners to join them in hotel bedrooms. One of the women, who were selected to serve guests provided they were “tall, thin and pretty”, said an attendee had exposed his penis to her.
A Downing Street spokesman said: “Mr Zahawi clearly did attend the event briefly and has himself said he felt uncomfortable at it at the point at which the hostesses were introduced by the host.” Two days before the dinner, staff were allegedly informed their phones would be “safely locked away” and told to wear black underwear to match short, black skirts they were given for the evening. The women were allegedly plied with wine, made to sign non-disclosure agreements and led back to the ballroom if they spent too long in the toilets.
He said Zahawi “probably regrets his decision to go”. Lots offered in the auction included a night at Soho’s Windmill strip club and a course of plastic surgery, accompanied by the slogan: “Spice up your wife.”
The Labour MP Sarah Jones said Zahawi should resign if he did not report his concerns about the event. Senior figures from the worlds of politics and business lined up to condemn details of the event.
In a Commons debate about the event, she said: “If it transpires that the minister did not report his concerns and that he was there on previous occasions, it is absolutely surely obvious that he needs to resign. Our women are too important, our young girls are too important to get this kind of message from our leaders and to think that it’s acceptable.” Carolyn Fairbairn, director general of the business group the CBI, said: “If even half of what’s been written about this event is true, it is deplorable and confirms how far we have still to go to stamp out sexual harassment.
Her colleague Emma Lewell-Buck suggested Zahawi should be sacked. The Labour MP Yvette Cooper, chair of the home affairs select committee, said: “Is this what these men demand in order to donate to charitable causes? Utterly appalling and shameful.”
No 10 said May did not plan to speak directly to Zahawi, who was not in the chamber for the debate. Great Ormond Street hospital, which received £530,000 from the Presidents Club between 2009 and 2016, said it was shocked and would return the donations. Evelina London children’s hospital followed suit, rejecting £400,000 pledged last Thursday by the restaurant tycoon Richard Caring, whose name was to be inscribed on a high-dependency unit.
Zahawi said on Twitter: “I do unequivocally condemn this behaviour. The report is truly shocking. I will never attend a men-only function ever.” Caring said he was not aware of or involved in any of the reported behaviour, having arrived late at the dinner and left early.
In response to an urgent question in the Commons about the event, the education minister Anne Milton announced Meller’s resignation. The business lobby group the Institute of Directors branded the event “disgusting and deplorable” while Britain’s biggest trade union Unite called for an urgent investigation by the Charity Commission. Unite also called for the reinstatement of harassment provisions in the Equality Act, which it said had been axed by the Conservatives.
“David Meller is stepping down as non-executive member for the DfE and apprenticeship delivery board, and this is the right thing to do,” she said. “I understand from reports that at this event there were allegations of inappropriate and lewd behaviour … Women have the right to feel safe wherever they work, and allegations of this type of behaviour are completely unacceptable.” The government introduces employment tribunal fees of £1,200, causing the number of cases to drop. It is later forced into a reversal after the supreme court rules the fees are inconsistent with access to justice, following a legal challenge by the trade union Unison.
Meller’s company, the Meller Group, refused to answer questions about his role in the event. The government scraps a legal requirement for employers to protect their workers from abuse by third parties such as clients or customers.
The Bank of England said on Wednesday it had withdrawn the offer of tea with its governor, Mark Carney, and a tour of its Threadneedle Street offices, won by an unnamed bidder at the dinner. A spokesman said: “It won’t be honoured. It was never valid.” The government abolishes an equality questionnaire that allowed sexual harassment claimants to ask questions about a potential claim before going to a tribunal. In a government consultation before the move, 80% of respondents opposed the proposal.
The Bank said officials were appalled by the reports of sexual harassment but it would not be writing to complain to the Presidents Club. “We don’t have a relationship with this organisation and we are not going to start one now,” he said. The Deregulation Act removes employment tribunals' powers to make recommendations for the benefit of the wider workforce following complaints.
The offer of tea with Carney is understood to have been first won at a charity dinner last year and recycled at last week’s event. Maria Miller MP, chair of the women and equalities select committee, had earlier called for the act to be strengthened.
The Lord Mayor’s Appeal, which held a charity dinner last November, invited bids to win tea with Carney and a tour of the Bank. Caroline Wright, who runs the appeal, said she believed the winner of the prize had sought to pass it on to the Presidents Club. In a statement on Wednesday afternoon, the Presidents Club trustees said the charity “will not host any further fundraising events. Remaining funds will be distributed in an efficient manner to children’s charities and it will then be closed.”
She refused to give the name of the winner or how much they paid, but confirmed the charity was trying to contact them to tell them the prize had been rescinded and the money would be refunded. “We don’t give out the names of winners and have never said how much they paid.” The dinner’s guest list was dominated by property industry tycoons, bankers, celebrities and politicians, including Zahawi and the Labour peer Lord Mendelsohn.
Earlier, Great Ormond Street hospital pledged to return donations from the Presidents Club. A spokeswoman for the GOSH Children’s Charity said: “We would never knowingly accept donations raised in this way. Due to the wholly unacceptable nature of the event we are returning previous donations and will no longer accept gifts from the Presidents Club Charitable Trust.” The prime minister’s spokesperson said: “My understanding is that Mr Zahawi clearly did attend the event briefly and has himself said he felt uncomfortable at it at the point at which the hostesses were introduced by the host.”
Margot James, the minister for digital and creative industries, backed calls for an investigation by the Charity Commission into what she described as an event for “slimeballs”. A Labour spokesperson said: “Lord Mendelsohn attended part of the dinner as president of a charity that received support from the event.”
I hear you have written to the Charities Commission about the slimeball’s “charity event” last night @joswinson week done, please add my name They added: “Lord Mendelsohn did not see any of the appalling incidents described in the report but he unreservedly condemns such behaviour.”
The event, attended by 360 guests including bankers, entrepreneurs and celebrities, included an auction to raise money for good causes. It was hosted by the comedian David Walliams. He pointed out that he had attended in a “strictly professional capacity and not as a guest”. A spokesperson for Jeremy Corbyn said the reports were “appalling”, adding: “It’s a gross example of sexual harassment under this organisation’s umbrella.”
In a tweet, Walliams added: “I did not witness any of the kind of behaviour that allegedly occurred and am absolutely appalled by the reports.” In response to an urgent question in the House of Commons, the education minister Anne Milton said the club’s joint chair David Meller had stood down as a non-executive director of the Department for Education and chairman of the government’s apprenticeship delivery board.
The Labour MP Jess Phillips, who posed the question, said: “What happened is that women were bought as bait for men who were rich men, not a mile from where we stand, as if that is an acceptable behaviour – it is totally unacceptable.”
Businesses that supported the Presidents Club, including the global advertising group WPP and real estate fund manager Frogmore, cut ties with it.
Walliams, who hosted the event, said: “I was there in a strictly professional capacity and not as a guest. I left immediately after I had finished my presenting on stage at 11.30pm. I did not witness any of the kind of behaviour that allegedly occurred and am absolutely appalled by the reports.”
A guest list seen by the Guardian included figures ranging from the billionaire Green to the Dragons’ Den entrepreneurs Jones and Theo Paphitis and Tim Steiner, chief executive of the grocery delivery firm Ocado. Patrons of the event listed by the Presidents Club include the Formula 1 magnate Bernie Ecclestone, while the property developer Nick Candy was a patron until the end of 2017.
Additional reporting by Sarah Marsh and Jamie Grierson
We are keen to hear from people who work in hospitality and have worked at this or similar events about what it’s like. We are also keen to hear from those who work in the city and in major businesses about whether this behaviour is widespread.We are keen to hear from people who work in hospitality and have worked at this or similar events about what it’s like. We are also keen to hear from those who work in the city and in major businesses about whether this behaviour is widespread.
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According to an undercover investigation by two journalists from the Financial Times, some of the 130 women employed as hostesses were allegedly groped repeatedly and invited by diners to join them in bedrooms at the hotel, while some said men had put hands up their skirts.
The FT reporter Madison Marriage, who went undercover at the event, told BBC2’s Newsnight: “I was groped several times and I know that there are numerous other hostesses who said the same thing had happened to them.
“It’s hands up skirts, hands on bums but also hands on hips, hands on stomachs, arms going round your waist unexpectedly. The worst I was told by one of the hostesses was a man taking his penis out during the course of the dinner.”
The Charity Commission said it was looking into the allegations “as a matter of urgency”. Tracy Howarth, its head of regulatory compliance, said: “Charities have a duty to fundraise responsibly and in line with their values. Trustees must also consider the wellbeing and protection of staff and all those who come into contact with their charity – not just those they are there to help.”
Items at the event’s auction included lunch with the foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, a trip to the Windmill strip club in Soho, and plastic surgery “to spice up your wife”.
A spokesman for the organisers said they were appalled by the allegations. “Such behaviour is totally unacceptable. The allegations will be investigated fully and promptly and appropriate action taken.”
The Dorchester hotel said it was “deeply concerned” and an investigation had been launched.
CharitiesCharities
Sexual harassmentSexual harassment
LondonLondon
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