Hosts ‘groped’ at men-only dinner
ONE of the organisers of a men-only fundraiser where hostesses were reportedly groped has quit as trustee of a children’s charity.
Businessman David Meller, Presidents Club trustee and co-chairman of the annual dinner at London’s Dorchester Hotel, has quit his role at the Mayor’s Fund for London and the Department for Education. It comes as two hospitals said they were returning donations from the trust in the wake of the allegations.
A spokesman for the Mayor’s Fund for London, which supports disadvantaged young people, said: “David Meller has this afternoon resigned as a trustee of the Mayor’s Fund for London.”
Education minister Anne Milton told MPs Mr Meller was quitting as non-executive director of the DfE board following the reports. Children and families minister Nadhim Zahawi also attended but “found the event extremely uncomfortable” and left early, Ms Milton said.
Mr Zahawi tweeted: “I do unequivocally condemn this behaviour. The report is truly shocking. I will never attend a men only function ever.”
Labour MP Jess Phillips, who tabled an urgent question in the House of Commons, welcomed news that Mr Meller was standing down and asked if it was “appropriate” that Mr Zahawi made an appearance.
She added: “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 – it is totally unacceptable.”
Great Ormond Street Hospital (Gosh) and Evelina London Children’s Hospital are among the causes that have benefited from the £20 million raised by the Presidents Club over more than 30 years.
Leading figures in business, politics and finance attended the event hosted by comedian and children’s author David Walliams, who is not the subject of any wrongdoing allegations.
Financial vTimes reporter Madison Marriage, who went undercover as part of the paper’s investigation into the event, told BBC Newsnight: “I was groped several times and I know that there are numerous other hostesses who said the same thing had happened to them.
“The worst I was told by one of the hostesses was a man taking his penis out during the course of the dinner.
“The other one was another man telling a hostess to down her glass of champagne, rip off her knickers and dance on the table.”
The Charity Commission said it was looking into the allegations “as a matter of urgency”.
Hostesses were allegedly told to wear black underwear and “sexy” black shoes for their shift. Items at the auction included lunch with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, a trip to the Windmill strip club in Soho and plastic surgery “to spice up your wife”. The Presidents Club said it was “appalled” by the allegations and vowed to investigate claims of “bad behaviour”.