The Dorchester ‘deeply concerned' by allegations of women being groped at hotel event

The Dorchester hotel in London said that it was "deeply concerned" about allegations of sexual harassment at a private event held at the Park Lane property last week.

It has been announced this afternoon that the Presidents Club, which hosted the men's only charity event at the five-AA-star, 250-bedroom hotel, has closed following the claims.

The only women at the event were 130 hostesses, hired for the evening by the Presidents Club.

Claims of numerous hostesses being groped throughout the evening by a number of the 360 guests from the world of British business, politics, finance and entertainment emerged this morning after the Financial Times published an account of the evening attended by an undercover journalist. The hostesses were also said to be the subject of lewd comments and repeated requests to join guests in the Dorchester's bedrooms.

A spokesperson for the Dorchester said: "We are deeply concerned by the disturbing allegations regarding the Presidents Club Charitable Trust event that was held at our hotel. We do not tolerate any form of harassment as expressed in our Code of Conduct and we do not support any events that appear to condone any form of misconduct. We will be reviewing our events contracts going forward to reinforce our guidelines for outside contributors and suppliers, and will do our utmost to prevent unacceptable behaviour on our premises."

Compere of the event, comedian David Walliams said on Twitter that he was "appalled" by the reports and did not personally witness any of the alleged incidents.

Dorchester Group blames Brexit for £39.5m losses >>

New GM of the Dorchester appoints Four Seasons stalwart >>

Roland Fasel to step down as GM of London’s Dorchester hotel >>

Videos from The Caterer archives

Are you looking for a new role? See all the current hospitality vacancies available with The Caterer Jobs