ITV gives scandal-hit CBI the cold shoulder

ITV is distancing itself from the scandal-hit Confederation of British Industry as more blue chip firms quit the business lobby group ahead of a crunch vote to decide its fate.

The broadcaster, which itself is reeling from the revelations over This Morning presenter Phillip Schofield, will not renew its membership of the CBI following sex and drugs allegations at the stricken organisation.

Oil titan BP, accountancy giant KPMG, High Street lender TSB, construction group Balfour Beatty and the Ford motor company are among the latest members to resign from the CBI in an exodus of blue chip companies.

They follow the likes of insurer Aviva, retailer John Lewis and NatWest bank. All three have female chief executives. They were joined by dozens of other firms. ITV remains a member and is entitled to vote in Tuesday’s extraordinary general meeting but it will not renew its CBI membership.

The latest spate of resignations piles further pressure on the tarnished group, which relies on subscriptions for the bulk of its £25 million income.

The CBI is expected to file for insolvency if it fails to win decisively in Tuesday’s poll, which amounts to a vote of confidence in the CBI board led by director-general Rain Newton-Smith.

Members who have already quit cannot vote. Those who suspended their membership remain eligible.

Significantly, none of the companies contacted by the Mail on Sunday has come out in support of the CBI’s overhaul plans, which it put forward in a 29-page document last week. Some, including drinks giant Diageo and Intercontinental Hotels, said they would make their minds up on the day.

There was confusion last night after a number of companies, including BT, said they were unclear whether they could vote because they had suspended their membership.

The CBI’s plans to reform itself include replacing Brian McBride as president and hiring Ffion Hague, a governance expert and wife of former Tory Party leader Lord Hague, to review the way it is run.

The lobby group, which claims to be the voice of business, says it speaks for 190,000 companies. But just five trade bodies make up almost two-thirds of that number, the Mail on Sunday has established.

The biggest of these is the National Farmers’ Union.

It has 46,000 members but – like the other trade bodies – it will only have one vote in the ballot. The CBI refuses to say how many members it has, despite pledging to be more transparent.

‘The CBI consists of policy-making multi-nationals, many of whom are foreign and landowners,’ said John Longworth, former director-general of the British Chambers of Commerce, a rival lobby group. ‘In the UK, 85 per cent of businesses are family owned or run. The CBI does not speak for them.’

A simple majority is required but experts say the CBI is doomed unless its plans are overwhelmingly approved. Whatever the outcome, job cuts loom among the 300-strong workforce as it seeks to slash costs by a third.

Members will be asked to approve commitments to improve ‘governance, culture and purpose’. An external review found the CBI ‘under-prioritised people-management skills’ but rejected claims the organisation’s culture was ‘toxic’ or ‘misogynistic’.

It followed revelations of sexual harassment, sexual assault, including rape, and drug-taking at CBI events.

Tony Danker was ousted as director general even though many of the most serious allegations predated his time.

A number of other employees have also been suspended pending a police probe.

After a second rape allegation appeared in The Guardian in April, the CBI suspended its membership and policy activities ahead of Tuesday’s meeting.

In another blow, IPSE – which represents 20,000 freelancers – told The Mail on Sunday it is no longer a CBI member and would not be voting. It is not clear how ITV will vote. The NFU said it would attend the meeting but declined to say how it would vote. Other firms such as Royal Mail and Scottish Power also refused to comment.

The CBI declined to comment.