Presidents Club
The Presidents Club was an annual charity dinner at The Dorchester hotel in London, and a "mainstay of London’s social calendar".[1]
The 360 guests – all men – included leading figures in business, entertainment and politics. They would pay for a dinner and participate in auctions of such prizes as meetings with influential people. The proceeds would go to children's charities. The charitable trust's joint chairmen as of 2018 were the property developer Bruce Ritchie and the businessman and Department for Education director David Meller.[1][2]
In January 2018, on the occasion of the 33rd annual dinner, the Financial Times reported that the guests were accompanied by scantily clad "hostesses" hired by an agency, and that several of the guests had sexually harassed or assaulted the hostesses in the course of the evening.[1] As a result, the Presidents Club announced that it would disband.[3] MPs called for the resignation of children and families minister Nadhim Zahawi, who had been among the guests.[4][5]
References
- ^ a b c Marriage, Madison (23 January 2018). "Men Only: Inside the charity fundraiser where hostesses are put on show". Financial Times. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
- ^ "Scandal-hit dinner organiser quits post". BBC News. 2018. Retrieved 2018-01-24.
- ^ "Presidents Club to close after shocking details of sexist behaviour emerge". The Independent. 24 January 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
- ^ Weaver, Matthew; Marsh, Sarah; Inman, Phillip (24 January 2018). "Presidents Club to disband after claims of harassment at 'hostess' gala". the Guardian. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
- ^ "PM under pressure to sack Families minister who attended seedy all-male gala". The London Economic. 2018-01-24. Retrieved 2018-01-24.