Tesco chairman John Allan was today facing claims of inappropriate behaviour as the fallout from the CBI sexual harassment scandal spread.
Four women have alleged Allan either touched them inappropriately or else made remarks they considered offensive.
Three of the accusations relate to a period between 2018 and 2021, when he was the CBI's president for two years and also a vice president.
According to the Guardian, which first reported the allegations, the fourth incident occurred at Tesco’s AGM last June.
In a published response, Allan denied all of the accusations except for one remark made in 2019.
A spokesperson told the paper, “Mr Allan was mortified after making the comment in 2019 and he immediately apologised.
“The person concerned agreed the matter was closed and no further action was taken. Regarding the other claims, they are simply untrue."
A spokesman for Tesco said: “In relation to John Allan’s conduct at Tesco’s 2022 AGM, Tesco has received no complaints or concerns formally or informally, including through our confidential Protector Line service.
"John Allan’s conduct has never been the subject of a complaint during his tenure as chair of Tesco.”
Today’s report comes just weeks after Tesco dropped its membership of the CBI after allegations of rape and harassment at events run by the business organisation.
An independently commissioned report recently concluded that it had employed ‘culturally toxic ‘staff.