Kemi Badenoch, the business and trade secretary, will this week hold her first meeting with Britain's major business groups since the government suspended engagement with the CBI.The groups - the British Chambers of Commerce, Federation of Small Businesses, Institute of Directors and Make UK - will now comprise a B4 after the CBI was frozen out of Whitehall amid the crisis over sexual misconduct at the organisation.
Brian McBride, the CBI president, reportedly told the Financial Times last week that it would be"unfair" if it was prevented from engaging with the government until a police investigation into claims of sexual harassment and rape was concluded. If that does happen, it is likely to raise further questions about the CBI's future given its self-styled positioning as 'the voice of business'.