Rishi Sunak will hold talks with Britain’s biggest businesses and investors as the Government tries to fill the void left behind by the scandal hit Confederation of British Industry (CBI).
The Prime Minister has invited about 200 of the UK’s “highest-profile CEOs and C-suite business leaders” to an event in London for “direct and detailed discussions across key industries”.
Downing Street said the event — called “Business Connect” — is being pitched as a “conference that champions the dynamism of UK businesses to unlock innovation and grow the economy.”
Mr Sunak will address attendees with a “commitment to optimise the conditions for businesses to thrive,” the statement said.
It comes after the CBI suspended large parts of its operations amid an exodus of members following allegations of rape and sexual misconduct against staff.
John Lewis, NatWest, Virgin Media O2 and Aviva were among the companies to quit on Friday.
This wave of departures was triggered by a report in the Guardian that alleged a female CBI employee was raped by two male colleagues in 2018. She was later shown a photograph in the office of sexual activity with one of the individuals, it is claimed.
The CBI has passed details of the allegations to the City of London Police and said it would put “all policy and membership activity” on hold until an extraordinary general meeting in June.
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What happened overnight
Asian shares were mostly lower at the start of a week packed with economic data and central bank meetings, along with earnings from the tech giants that have kept the S&P 500 afloat so far this year.
Market action was sluggish in the wake of Friday’s surprisingly strong surveys of business activity which reinforced the case for higher interest rates.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.4pc, while Japan’s Nikkei nudged up 0.2pc. Chinese blue chips fell 0.4pc.
Over in Australia, there was some weakness in mining stocks after Chile moved to boost state control over its lithium industry, which has the world’s largest reserves of the battery metal.
