CBI president says it failed to ‘filter our culturally toxic people’ from ranks

In letter to members, Brian McBride says group did not have measures in place to ‘protect our people from those seeking to cause harm’

Britain’s most prominent business lobby group, the Confederation of British Industry, has said it failed to “filter our culturally toxic people” from its ranks including those accused of sexual harassment.

The letter, sent by the CBI president, Brian McBride, to its members, said the organisation “tried to find resolution in sexual harassment cases when we should have removed those offenders from our business”. It comes after a series of revelations about its culture and the behaviour of its senior staff from the Guardian.