Hostesses were reportedly groped, propositioned – and required to sign a non-disclosure agreement
An elite club of the UK’s senior finance executives finds itself mired in allegations of sexual harassment at a recent men-only charity gala in London.
Undercover reporting by the Financial Times found that female hostesses were groped, subjected to lewd comments or invited to hotel bedrooms during an event of The Presidents Club, the Associated Press reported.
The hostesses were required to wear short skirts and high heels – and made to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
"Women have the right to feel safe wherever they work and allegations of this type of behaviour are completely unacceptable," said Education Minister Anne Milton.
"It is quite extraordinary to me that in the 21st century allegations of this kind are emerging,"
The event raised money for charities through an auction with prizes including tea with Bank of England Governor Mark Carney and lunch with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.
But other lots reportedly included a strip club trip with the first lap dance for free, a glass of champagne and a smoked salmon bagel.
Another provided a chance for plastic surgery at a private clinic, with the promise to "take years off your life or add spice to your wife."
The Presidents Club announced Wednesday that it would shut down after distributing its remaining funds to children's charities. It will not host any further fundraising events, it said.
The Presidents Club dinner is an annual event for a group that claims it has raised around 20 million pounds ($28 million) for children's charities over the past 33 years.
One of the club’s three trustees, David Meller, has resigned as adviser to the Department of Education. Labour Party lawmaker Jess Phillips, who brought the issue to the House of Commons, welcomed news that Meller was quitting.
"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," she told lawmakers. "It is totally unacceptable."
Great Ormond Street Hospital and Evelina London Children's Hospital, beneficiaries of the club’s fund-raising activities, said they would return previous donations and sever ties with the Presidents Club.
WPP, the FTSE 100-listed advertising conglomerate, which has always sponsored a table at the event, cut its association with the club.
"Neither the company nor our attendees were aware of the alleged incidents until informed of them by the Financial Times," it said.
The Financial Times report said the hostesses were made to sign a non-disclosure agreement before starting work.
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