Tesco chief to quit in wake of groping claims
TESCO’S chairman is to step down after the chain said claims he had behaved inappropriately risked ‘becoming a distraction’.
A series of allegations were lodged against John Allan, mainly relating to his time as president of the Confederation of British Industry, including groping female colleagues.
He is the most prominent corporate figure to lose their job in the wake of the wider scandal swirling around the CBI lobbying group. He will leave before Tesco’s annual meeting next month.
In a statement, he said he regretted having to ‘prematurely stand down’ as a result of the ‘utterly baseless allegations’.
A prominent City figure who last autumn backed Labour’s economic growth plans, Mr Allan also chairs house builder Barratt Developments. Barratt declined to comment. He was paid £713,000 by Tesco in its last financial year.
The 74-year-old was accused of touching the bottoms of two women and making inappropriate remarks to two others.
They were said to have been left feeling offended, humiliated and sexually harassed by his alleged behaviour, The Guardian reported.
At a CBI conference in 2019 it was claimed that he told a woman: ‘ That dress really suits your figure.’
His spokesman has said he was ‘mortified’ after making the comment and immediately apologised. The allegations against him emerged weeks after Tesco joined other businesses and the Government in cutting ties with the CBI in the wake of claims of serious sexual misconduct including rape and harassment.
The supermarket giant, which made Mr Allan chairman in 2015, said a succession plan would conclude ‘in the near future’.
It added: ‘In recent weeks, four allegations have been made in the media in relation to John’s personal conduct.
‘Three of these allegations are vigorously denied by John, for the other John unreservedly apologised for the comment he made.’
The supermarket chain said it had launched an extensive review following the one claim related to Tesco, which was reviewed by an external legal adviser. ‘This review has not identified any evidence or complaints in relation to John at the Tesco 2022 AGM or at all in his tenure as Tesco chair,’ the firm said.
Independent director Byron Grote said: ‘While we have received no complaints about John’s conduct and made no findings of wrongdoing, these allegations risk becoming a distraction to Tesco.
‘On behalf of the board, I thank him for his substantial contribution to the business.’
Mr Allan said: ‘ It is with regret that I am having to prematurely stand down from my position as chair of Tesco plc following the anonymous and unsubstantiated allegations made against me. These allegations are utterly baseless, as the internal procedures undertaken by Tesco prove.
‘There is no evidence of any wrongdoing at that time or at any stage of my chairmanship at Tesco and I remain determined to prove my innocence.’
Mr Allan is due to retire from the board of Barratt in September. It is understood that he will not receive any pay-off from Tesco.