children's charities, and "will not host any further fundraising events."

One of the club's three trustees, David Meller, resigned as an adviser to Britain's Department for Education. Meller is joint chairman of the Meller Group, which supplies jewelry, beauty products and housewares to British shops.

Labour Party lawmaker Jess Phillips, who brought the issue to the House of Commons, welcomed news that Meller was standing down.

"What happened is that women were bought as bait for men who were rich men, not a mile from where we stand, as if that is an acceptable behavior," she told lawmakers. "It is totally unacceptable."

The fury comes at a time of reckoning for many men in positions of power as women speak out about sexual misconduct following the scandal surrounding Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.Women rallied on three continents over the weekend to demand equality and to mark the anniversary of the inauguration of President Donald Trump, whose election in 2016 sparked the first wave of mass protests by women.

The Presidents Club dinner is an annual event for a group that claims it has raised around 20 million pounds ($28 million) for children's charities over the past 33 years.

In the year to Oct. 31, 2016, the Presidents Club made or pledged 1.6 million pounds to charities, including 280,000 pounds to Great Ormond Street children's hospital, according to the most recent accounts filed with the Charity Commission for England and Wales. The group's income for the same period totaled 2.05 million pounds, with 1.59 million pounds coming from that year's charity gala.

But raising