Sir Philip ‘ has not done enough’ to keep title
SIR Philip Green, the former owner of BHS, has been warned he could still lose his knighthood, a year after the collapse of the firm.
He faces new questions from MPs, amid concerns over the settlement he struck with regulators to cover a black hole in the BHS pension fund.
The entrepreneur agreed to pay £ 363million to settle the scheme in February, less than the £ 571million deficit the high street store was left when it collapsed in April last year – but claimed the move represented a “significantly better” outcome than if the scheme entered the Pension Protection Fund.
Labour MP Frank Field said he remains “on the hook”, adding: “When Parliament comes back... we need to pursue the charge sheet from The Pensions Regulator against him and what the Pensions Regulator got in return.
“Once we have done that, we will realise how inadequate his settlement was.” Mr Field, who chairs the Work and Pensions Committee, said: “He has not done enough to hold on to his knighthood.
“It’s rather good that [ Theresa] May is waiting for all the reports to come in before she makes a recommendation to the honours forfeiture committee. The case against Sir Philip will continue.”
BHS’s collapse cost 11,000 jobs and hit 19,000 pensioners.
Sources close to Sir Philip said the settlement was accepted and final and that there was no further action outstanding against him.