McDonald's sexual abuse claims 'deeply concerning' - PM spokesman

Sexual assault, harassment, racism and bullying allegations at McDonald's UK outlets are "deeply concerning", the prime minister's spokesman has said.

One MP has said McDonald's branches- which are mostly run as franchises in the UK - should be shut down if they are found to have breached labour laws.

McDonald's has "deeply apologised" and admitted it had "fallen short".

On Tuesday, the prime minister's spokesman said he had not see the full details of the BBC's investigation, but added it was "important for any company which is facing those kinds of accusations to treat them seriously".

The BBC began investigating working conditions at McDonald's in February after the company was forced to sign a legally binding agreement with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) in which it pledged to protect its staff from sexual harassment.

At the time, McDonald's insisted it had a "strong track record in this area", but the investigation revealed a different picture, with more than 100 allegations from McDonald's workers relating to sexual assault, harassment, racism and homophobia over the past five months.

Darren Jones, chair of the Business and Trade Committee, urged the firm to cancel franchise agreements, saying the company "would do that if they didn't use the right products".

The Labour MP told the BBC's Today programme the fast food chain must answer questions over how employment laws were being obeyed in its franchises, if such policies were in its contracts with local restaurants.

"I am sure they go in and check the quality of their burgers and whether their marketing standards have been put up properly and whether customers are happy with the quality of their milkshakes," he added.

"But are they going in and talking to the staff and making sure that they are being treated fairly and in line with the law? It sounds like they are not."

Wera Hobhouse, Liberal Democrat MP said the allegations were "yet another shocking example of the pervasive problem of workplace harassment".

"It is crucial they are properly investigated by McDonalds and employment watchdogs," she added.

Ms Hobhouse called for the government to back her Worker Protection Bill, which if made law, would make employers liable for tackling sexual harassment in the workplace.

Alistair Macrow, chief executive of McDonald's UK & Ireland, said more than 2,000 managers had completed full awareness training and that most restaurant teams were now working within the new protections which aim to create "a safe and respectful workplace".

But Mr Jones said it was "all well and good McDonald's saying that they have provisions in their franchise agreement, but clearly these abuses have been able to take place in multiple places over many, many years".

He said managers who "get away with this behaviour...must do it partly because they know they can get away with it and it's McDonald's responsibility to make sure that can't keep happening".

McDonald's has been asked if it intends to end franchise deals if outlets are found to have broken labour laws.