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The UK's biggest business group has admitted it hired "culturally toxic" staff and failed to fire people who sexually harassed female colleagues.

The CBI said a failure to act allowed a "very small minority" of staff to believe they could get away with harassment or violence against women.

The embattled group was responding to an independent report by a law firm after two rape allegations at the CBI.

It said it "made mistakes" "that led to terrible consequences".

The future of the CBI is hanging in the balance.

In early April, a number of claims of misconduct and harassment against CBI staff emerged including one allegation of rape at the lobby group's summer party in 2019.

Last week, a second rape allegation prompted an avalanche of firms to cancel their membership or suspending activity with the lobby giant.

The CBI subsequently announced it would suspend its operations until June while it decided on its future.

It a letter to members, the CBI admitted:

It "tried to find resolution in sexual harassment cases when we should have removed those offenders from our business"

It failed to filter out culturally toxic people during the hiring process

Promoted some mangers too quickly "without the necessary prior and ongoing training to protect our cultural values, and to properly react when those values were violated"

Paid "more attention to competence than to behaviour"

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65375311