Former Tesco chairman John Allan has said he wasn’t fairly treated by the grocer and Barratt and that “the simplest and easiest thing was to propel me under the nearest bus”.
Allan told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge On Sunday that there was “absolutely no substance” to the misconduct allegations and said he is “completely innocent.”
Allan, who was chairman at the supermarket for eight years, officially stepped down on 16 June after he was accused of inappropriate and unprofessional behaviour by four women.
In May, The Guardian reported that Allan allegedly touched the bottom of a senior member of Tesco staff at the grocer’s AGM in June 2022, and a staff member at the Confederation of British Industry made a similar claim in 2019.
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Two other female CBI staff members alleged that Allan made inappropriate remarks in 2021 and in 2019 and while Allan has denied three of the allegations, he admits to a claim regarding a comment he made about a staff member’s appearance, which she found to be offensive.
He told Sky News that when he saw that he had upset the CBI member in 2019, he “apologised unreservedly” and admitted that it was an “ill-judged remark.”
“I thought she was looking a bit miserable and I wish to heck I had never used the word figure now and I never will again,” Allan said.
“I’ve talked to many women I know since then and most of them are absolutely incredulous about how somebody could be as upset as this lady appears to have been with what I said.
“What I’ve learnt I think is that one has to be terribly careful about what you say to people. So look, I put my hand up to that one.”
In May, Tesco said it had “received no complaints or concerns formally or informally” regarding the allegations related to the Tesco AGM, however interim chair Byron Grote said the claims “risk becoming a distraction to Tesco.”
