IoD lost its way, says tycoon

AN entrepreneur has criticised the Institute of Directors for losing its way after three directors were forced to quit after a racism row.

Luke Johnson slammed the chaos at the business organisation for bosses and said its leaders should be working to help companies instead of bickering among themselves.

Johnson – a former Channel 4 chairman known for building up food chains Patisserie Valerie and Pizza Express – called for the IoD to unite and fight against Labour’s socialist policies under Jeremy Corbyn. It follows a power struggle at the organisation which saw chairman Lady Judge face a complaint for bullying, sexism and racism. She was forced to quit last week along with close boardroom allies Sir Kenneth Olisa and Arnold Wagner.

Johnson, who was a candidate for IoD chairman when Lady Judge was appointed in 2015, said he expects more heads could roll in coming weeks.

He said: ‘It’s a great shame that an organisation that has a wonderful opportunity to champion business appears to have lost its way.’

Lady Judge was secretly recorded by director general Stephen Martin warning that having a black man and a pregnant woman on her staff was ‘the worst combination’.

It is also alleged she told one female employee not to ‘dress like a tart’ and had made an assistant stand in a stairwell for an hour while a painter discussed the light levels for her portrait. She denies the claims but said she regrets the language caught on tape.