Mayfair club boss quits as row grows over rush to let women in
THE chairman of a leading exclusive London gentlemen’s club has resigned ahead of an expected change in policy that could see women being allowed to join.
Gareth Neame, head of Mayfair’s 156-year-old Savile Club, quit on Friday and simultaneously gave up his memberships at the Beefsteak Club and the Garrick Club.
Yesterday two sources close to Savile blamed his decision to leave on discussions going on at all three clubs over allowing women to join.
One source said that Mr Neame simply couldn’t face the procedures and publicity involved.
But last night Mr Neame denied that his reason for resigning from the clubs was over the issue of women members.
Last week the Garrick Club held a vote to pass a motion to permit women to join for the first time in 200 years. The decision came after a leak to The Guardian last month, which published the names of 60 of its members.
The list read like a Who’s Who of the British establishment, with names including King Charles, Benedict Cumberbatch and Stephen Fry among its 1,500 members.
After the leak, Simon Case, the Cabinet Secretary, resigned as a member, along with Sir Richard Moore, head of MI6.
Prominent female names, including Mary Beard, journalist Cathy Newman, Juliet Stevenson and
Amber Rudd have since been put forward as potential candidates for the Garrick.
Debates and votes to allow women members are now being scheduled at the Savile Club.
Meanwhile, the Beefsteak Club, whose motto is ‘beefsteak and brotherhood’ has – according to a member – already decided to let women in.
But the issue is now the talk of London’s high society, thanks to Mr Neame’s decision to storm out.
Another source told the MoS last night: ‘The Savile chairman has resigned, purely over women members. Everybody’s disappointed as he’s such an excellent person.
‘The Savile are still only talking about it – it hasn’t even started happening yet. But he resigned because a lot of people are giving him a hard time over it. It’s up for discussion but nothing’s been finalised.
‘It is happening at the Beefsteak too, and at the Garrick. He just can’t face going through all of it.’
Mr Neame is a successful British TV executive who produced Downton Abbey and, during his stint as a BBC executive, made Tipping The Velvet – a feminist drama about lesbians. He won an OBE in 2016 for services to drama.
Scenes from Downton Abbey were filmed at the Savile Club, which introduced a strict no-drug policy after Sir Stephen Fry admitted to snorting cocaine in its bathrooms.