‘Groping scandal’ at elite business dinner
Top figures from business and politics, including British-Iraqi MP Nadhim Zahawi, attended a secretive men-only charity dinner in London at which female hostesses were groped and propositioned, it has been claimed.
The Financial Times newspaper, which sent two undercover reporters to the annual Presidents Club gala evening, revealed that 130 hostesses were specially hired for the occasion and told to wear skimpy black dresses with matching underwear before being paraded in front of braying men.
The event, held in the ballroom at the Dorchester Hotel on prestigious Park Lane, was attended by 360 men from British business, politics and finance and hosted by comedian David Walliams.
Lots put up for auction included a night at a strip club and a course of plastic surgery, with the invitation: “Add spice to your wife”.
A seating plan for the event, obtained by the FT, listed those due to attend as including Mr Zahawi, a Conservative MP and the new under-secretary of state for children and families. Mr Zahawi told BBC Newsnight: “I did attend and left early. David Walliams was hosting. I didn’t stay long enough to really comment on the occasion”.
A spokesperson from Mr Zahawi’s parliamentary office confirmed to The National that the MP had felt “uncomfortable” at the event, although refused to elaborate on what had made him feel that way.
A department for education spokesperson said: “This charity event was attended [by Mr Zahawi] in a personal capacity. It was not official departmental business and as such we are unable to comment further.”
Other names listed by the FT included Dragons’ Den BBC TV show star Peter Jones, Sir Philip Green, the owner of Topshop, Ocado boss Tim Steiner, and Labour peer and fundraiser Lord Mendelsohn. It is unclear whether everyone on the list showed up.
The host greeted guests at the start of the evening by announcing: “Welcome to the most un-PC event of the year”.
Over the course of the six-hour evening, hostesses – some of whom were students trying to make extra cash
– were subjected to lewd comments and men putting their hands up their skirts, the FT reported. One said a guest had exposed himself to her.
The newspaper reported that at an after-party, held in a smaller room in the Dorchester, a man described as a prominent society figure had grabbed a hostess by the waist and pulled her in against his stomach.
Women chosen as hostesses were allegedly required to be “tall, thin and pretty”. One is reported as saying: “It’s a Marmite job. Some girls love it, and for other girls it’s the worst job of their life and they will never do it again.”
It was claimed that they were paid £150 (Dh780) for a six-hour shift, plus £25 for a taxi home.
There was a swift backlash against the event, with female MPs speaking out to condemn the alleged activities.
Maria Miller, the chair of the parliamentary committee on women and equalities, tweeted that she hoped every man who attended the event would think twice before accepting another invitation to such an event.
Jo Swinson, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, said the report was “simply stomach-churning”.