What is the Presidents Club, what happened during the charity party at The Dorchester Hotel and who were the hostesses?
THE Presidents Club charity closed in disgrace after revelations some of the 130 hostesses at its annual charity ball were sexually harassed.
But what was the Presidents Club Charity dinner, what is alleged to have taken place at The Dorchester Hotel and what has happened since the allegations came to light?
What is the Presidents Club and who are its trustees?
Very little is known about this elite group, which is extremely secretive.
It is described as a charitable trust that emerged sometime in the mid-1980s, shortly before the financial boom took over in London - known as the "Yuppie Years".
The club thrived during the City of London's most prosperous years, attracting some of the most esteemed and elite figures from politics, business and the world of celebrity.
The group gained notoriety for its men-only dinner parties, where guests made hefty charitable donations through a series of spectacular prize auctions.
David Meller, Harvey Soning and Bruce Ritchie are listed as the club's trustees on the Charity Commission website.
David Meller chairs the Meller Group - one of the UK's largest luxury home and beauty suppliers, and until Wednesday, sat as a non-executive board member for the Department for Education and the Apprenticeship Delivery Board.
Harvey Soning is a major property developer, both in the UK and abroad, and sits as Chairman of the James Andrew International agency.
Bruce Ritchie is also a property tycoon and is CEO and founder of the Mayfair-based Residential Land Group.
What was the Presidents Club Dorchester charity dinner?
The club has been running the secretive dinner for 33 years as a charity fundraiser.
In the past they have raised around £20m for charitable causes such as Great Ormond Street Hospital, and Thursday's event alone raised more than £2m.
The black tie dinner held at the Dorchester Hotel on January 18 was hosted by comedian David Walliams, while TV presenter Jonathan Gould led a charity auction.
The Financial Times reports that a total of 360 figures from British politics, finance and entertainment attended.
What happened at the men-only event?
sent two undercover reporters to the event to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct.
Posing as a hostess, journalist Madison Marriage reported that "all of the women were told to wear skimpy black outfits with matching underwear and high heels" to woo the boozed-up attendees.
Ms Marriage said during her six hours there she was groped several times and that "many of the hostesses were subjected to groping, lewd comments and repeated requests to join diners in bedrooms elsewhere in the Dorchester".
She said the 130 hostesses, who were paid £150 each for a night's work, were made to parade into the ballroom in height order to the music of Little Mix before attending to their designated tables.
Other hostesses were seen holding hands with the men, and one claimed she was fondled inappropriately.
One allegedly said: "I’ve never done this before, and I’m never doing it again.
"It’s f***ing scary."
Ms Marriage added: "Hostesses reported men repeatedly putting hands up their skirts; one said an attendee had exposed his penis to her during the evening".
The reporter says an after party was held in a smaller room off the main lobby at the Dorchester between 11pm-2am, where the reporter said one man overheard telling a worker: "You look far too sober" before grabbing her and filling up her glass.
He reportedly added: “I want you to down that glass, rip off your knickers and dance on that table.”
Ms Marriage said that hostesses were asked to sign a five-page non-disclosure agreement about the event upon arrival to the hotel.
What has happened since the allegations?
The Presidents Club has announced it would be closing down after it was denounced in Parliament and disavowed by the charities it supported.
The charity's trustees issued a statement saying that any remaining funds raised through the black-tie event at the Dorchester would be "distributed in an efficient manner to children's charities" before the club was fully wound down.
The Presidents Club issued a statement, saying: “The Presidents Club recently hosted its annual dinner, raising several million pounds for disadvantaged children.
"The organisers are appalled by the allegations of bad behaviour at the event asserted by the Financial Times reporters.
"Such behaviour is totally unacceptable. The allegations will be investigated fully and promptly and appropriate action taken.”
Host David Walliams said he did "not witness any of the kind of behaviour that allegedly occurred" and was "absolutely appalled by the reports".
A spokesman for the Dorchester Hotel responded to the FT's claims, saying: "We are unaware of any allegations and should we be contacted we will work with the relevant authorities as necessary."
David Meller, who helped organise the dinner, has quit his non-executive role on the Department for Education since the allegations emerged.
Mr Meller, founder of the Meller Educational Trust, attended the dinner in a personal capacity.
New education minister Nadhim Zahawi also attended in a personal capacity.
Mr Zahawi told Newsnight: "I didn't stay long enough to really comment on the occasion."
A Great Ormond Street Hospital spokeswoman said the hospital would be returning previous donations from the organisers of the dinner.
She said: "We have had no involvement in the organisation of this event and were never due to receive money from it."
She added: "We would never knowingly accept donations raised in this way.
"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."
What has Jimmy Carr been accused of in connection with the Presidents Club Charity Dinner
The comedian made hostesses at a scandal-hit Presidents Club bash “uncomfortable” by going into their dressing room, it has been claimed.
One worker at London’s Dorchester Hotel said she felt the comic was “creepy” at the 2015 event.
She recalled: “I kept saying, ‘Why does he keep walking through, this is obviously where girls are getting changed?’
“I felt uncomfortable around him and his behaviour made me think to myself that it was a bit weird.”
The woman even reported the comic to security in a bid to stop him entering the dressing room.
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As well as this, several organisations that had provided items for the auction said they would no longer follow through with their donations.
The Bank of England said afternoon tea with Governor Mark Carney had been revoked, and Tesla and BMW have cancelled the sale of luxury cars.
An urgent probe has now been opened by the Charity Commission into conduct at last Thursday's event.
Jess Phillips MP, who chairs the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party, was one of many politicians to express outrage against the claims.
She told the BBC: "I am tired of having to continually say it's 2018 and it's totally unacceptable that women should be hired in as a herd to entertain a group of entitled rich men, because it's not what we're teaching our kids is an acceptable thing."
-In a previous version of this article we incorrectly referred to Jonny Gould, the broadcaster as attending The Presidents Club on January 23. He did not attend and we apologise for the distress caused.