Top figures from business and politics, including British-Iraqi MP Nadhim Zahawi, attended a secretive men-only charity dinner in London at which female hostesses were groped and propositioned, it has been claimed.
Mr Zahawi is now facing calls to resign from his role as a child protection minister for attending the event, where young women, including some students, were sexually harassed.
The Financial Times newspaper, which sent two undercover reporters to the annual Presidents Club gala evening, revealed that 130 hostesses were specially hired for the occasion and told to wear skimpy black dresses with matching underwear before being paraded in front of braying men.
The event, held in the ballroom at the Dorchester Hotel on prestigious Park Lane, was attended by 360 men from British business, politics and finance and hosted by comedian David Walliams.
Lots put up for auction included a night at a strip club and a course of plastic surgery, with the invitation: "Add spice to your wife".
The Presidents Club has said it is to close following the emergence of the allegations on Wednesday.
A seating plan for the event, obtained by the FT, listed those due to attend as including Mr Zahawi, a Conservative MP and the new under-secretary of state for children and families.
Mr Zahawi told BBC Newsnight: “I did attend and left early. David Walliams was hosting. I didn’t stay long enough to really comment on the occasion”.
There is no indication that Mr Zahawi acted inappropriately directly towards any of the hostesses or broke any laws. On Twitter, he said he "unequivocally condemned" the behaviour and described the report as "truly shocking".
However, Labour MP Sarah Jones insisted on Wednesday that Mr Zahawi should resign for not reporting what had happened at the dinner.
The SNP’s Lisa Cameron also argued that it was “incongruous” for Mr Zahawi to be a child protection minister when he attended an event like this.
A spokesperson from Mr Zahawi's parliamentary office confirmed to The National that the MP had felt "uncomfortable" at the event, although refused to elaborate on exactly what had made him feel that way.
A Department for Education spokesperson added: “This charity event was attended [by Mr Zahawi] in a personal capacity. It was not official departmental business and as such we are unable to comment further.”
The department refused to clarify whether Mr Zahawi paid for his ticket himself out of his pocket, or whether he put it on expenses, or whether any UK taxpayer money went towards the ticket.
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Other names listed to attend the event by the FT included Dragons’ Den star Peter Jones, Sir Philip Green, the owner of Topshop, Ocado boss Tim Steiner, and Labour peer and fundraiser Lord Mendelsohn. It is unclear whether everyone on the list showed up on the night.
The host greeted guests at the start of the evening by announcing: "Welcome to the most un-PC event of the year."
Over the course of the six-hour evening, hostesses – some of whom were students trying to make extra cash – were subjected to lewd comments and men putting their hands up their skirts, the FT reported. One said a guest had exposed himself to her.
The newspaper reported that at an after-party, held in a smaller room off the main lobby of the Dorchester, a man described as a prominent society figure had grabbed a hostess by the waist and pulled her in against his stomach.
"You look far too sober," the man was reported as saying. "I want you to down that glass, rip off your knickers and dance on that table."
Women chosen as hostesses were allegedly required to be “tall, thin and pretty”. One is reported as saying: “It’s a Marmite job. Some girls love it, and for other girls it’s the worst job of their life and they will never do it again.”
It was claimed that they were paid £150 for their shift, plus £25 for a taxi home.
The detailed report of the evening comes at a time of intense public debate about issues of sexual harassment in the workplace and pay discrimination against women.
There was a swift backlash against the event, with female MPs speaking out to condemn the alleged activities.
Maria Miller, the chair of the parliamentary committee on women and equalities, tweeted that she hoped every man who attended the event would think twice before accepting another invitation to a men-only event with female hostesses.
Jo Swinson, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, said the report was “simply stomach-churning”.
She added: “More than 300 rich businessmen were perfectly happy to attend such an event, which shows the rotten, sexist culture still alive and kicking in parts of the business community.”
Martin Sorrell, chief executive of advertising group WPP, told BBC radio the company would no longer support the charity. Mr Sorrell said he had attended the charity's gala event many years ago and had not seen anything like what was described in the report.
"If true, it's highly regrettable," he said.
David Meller, who helped organise the dinner, quit his role on the Department for Education board on Wednesday amid the ongoing fallout, MPs were told.
The Presidents Club Charitable Trust says on its website it was founded more than three decades ago to raise money for underprivileged children.
Last Thursday's event alone raised more than £2 million for good causes such as Great Ormond Street Hospital for children, according to the FT article.
However, GOSH has said it will return all previous donations from the Presidents Club and will no longer accept gifts from the organisation after the allegations of sexual harassment emerged on Wednesday.
A spokesperson for GOSH said: "We are shocked to hear of the behaviour reported at the Presidents Club Charitable Trust fundraising dinner. We would never knowingly accept donations raised in this way.
"We have had no involvement in the organisation of this event, nor attended and we were never due to receive any money from it.
"All monies raised in our name go to support vital work. However, due to the wholly unacceptable nature of the event we are returning previous donations and will no longer accept gifts from the Presidents Club Charitable Trust."
MATCH INFO
England 241-3 (20 ovs)
Malan 130 no, Morgan 91
New Zealand 165 all out (16.5ovs)
Southee 39, Parkinson 4-47
England win by 76 runs
Series level at 2-2
THE SPECS
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Seven tips from Emirates NBD
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2. Never store a card PIN (personal identification number) in your mobile or in your wallet
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Yahya Al Ghassani's bio
Date of birth: April 18, 1998
Playing position: Winger
Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda
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RESULT
Deportivo La Coruna 2 Barcelona 4
Deportivo: Perez (39'), Colak (63')
Barcelona: Coutinho (6'), Messi (37', 81', 84')
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AT4 Ultimate, as tested
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The biog
Year of birth: 1988
Place of birth: Baghdad
Education: PhD student and co-researcher at Greifswald University, Germany
Hobbies: Ping Pong, swimming, reading
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In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
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England Test squad
Ben Stokes (captain), Joe Root, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Jack Leach, Alex Lees, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts
MATCH INFO
England 19 (Try: Tuilagi; Cons: Farrell; Pens: Ford (4)
New Zealand 7 (Try: Savea; Con: Mo'unga)
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
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Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face
The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.
The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran.
Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf.
"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said.
Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer.
The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy.
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bundesliga results
Mainz 0 Augsburg 1 (Niederlechner 1')
Schalke 1 (Caligiuri pen 51') Bayer Leverkusen 1 (Miranda og 81')