Who speaks for pie factories if the CBI goes down?

Three months ago I praised Tony Danker, director general of the Confederation of British Industry, for berating the government over corporate tax rises and skill shortages: at last, I said, a CBI chief con brio. But now he’s been fired following an investigation into his ‘workplace conduct’ and three other CBI staffers have been suspended over other claims, including a rape allegation. The taint is life-threatening: if members flee, the CBI won’t survive. And if it doesn’t, say critics, not much is lost – because as a lobby group for the interests of its dominant large corporate subscribers, the UK’s leading employers’ organisation was already past its sell-by date.

Fair comment? I say nothing of the conduct complaints – other than to observe that what with allegations not long past of bullying at the Institute of Directors and sexual harassment at the Presidents Club (a charity event for corporate big-shots), the boss class may need urgent behavioural retraining.