BHS: new salvo in war of words as Field accuses Green of ‘evil’
THE war of words between MP Frank Field and Sir Philip Green became even more vitriolic yesterday as the retailer was accused of doing “evil” in his dealings with BHS.
Mr Field, chairman of the Work and Pensions Committee, said Sir Philip needed to “face up to the evil he has done to BHS” after selling the store chain to “manifestly unsuitable” former bankrupt Dominic Chappell for just £1.
BHS’s demise means the likely loss of 11,000 jobs and a £571million pensions black hole.
There is no suggestion that Sir Philip has done anything illegal but the MP’s accusation is the latest in increasingly bitter exchanges.
On Saturday, Sir Philip said Mr Field had orchestrated a “kangaroo court” to investigate the matter.
A joint report from the Commons’ Business and Work and Pensions Committees into the affair is one of the most scathing dossiers ever produced from a Parliamentary inquiry.
It accused Sir Philip of buying BHS and failing to invest in it while raking in “incredible wealth” and paying little tax.
Mr Field said yesterday: “The idea that it is a kangaroo court, it is just displacement therapy for him – facing up to the evil that he has done in destroying BHS, workers’ jobs and pension fund liabilities, and a need now for him to do something about it, which is write that big cheque.
“He said he was going to ‘fix it, fix it, fix it’ when he was with us – he hasn’t done so.”
Mr Field said he intended to discuss the sale with the head of the Serious Fraud Office.
He said: “Was any law broken? If, in fact, he is dragging his heels, I’m sure the select committee will… ask Sir Philip Green to reappear and explain what he means by ‘fixing it’, when actually nothing has been done.”
Mr Field insisted Tory MPs were “angry” at the way Sir Philip had behaved.
“What Sir Philip doesn’t seem to understand, he thinks it’s me doing things,” he said.
“I’m a minority chairman, the majority of the committee reflects the House, this is a Tory committee.” Sir Philip’s letter read: “Even before the parliamentary inquiry started hearing from witnesses, you turned it into little more than a kangaroo court, with your constant press campaign barracking and insulting me and my family and your announcement from day one that the predetermined result of the inquiry was that I either sign a large cheque or lose my knighthood.
“Much as you would love to, you cannot point to any rules or laws that I have broken. Because I have broken none.
“You hide behind parliamentary privilege by publicly traducing me and my family in select committee hearings with allegations of theft.
“Your repeated attempts to lead the public into thinking that it is simply a matter of me writing a cheque are utterly disingenuous.”
Lawyers for Sir Philip had previously written to Mr Field over his likening him to disgraced media mogul Robert Maxwell.