Philip Green ‘to sue’ over bombshell biography

THERE is to be a nasty birthday ‘ present’ for rolypoly retailer Sir Philip Green, who turns 66 tomorrow.

I hear Penguin is to announce details of an ‘explosive’ biography of the tycoon, who faced calls for his knighthood to be revoked after he sold BHS to a serial bankrupt.

The book is to be written by journalist oliver Shah, whom Green called ‘a disgusting individual’.

A publishing source tells me: ‘Green is consulting lawyers over the book. It will explore Green’s friendship with some fascinating characters and look into his colourful family. There will also be lots of new allegations about his bullying behaviour over the years.’

Sir Philip, who shed his ‘Sir Shifty’ nickname after stumping up £363 million to help fill the black hole in the BHS pension scheme, declined to comment yesterday. However, one of his friends tells me: ‘Shah is going to end up being sued.’

Last summer, I disclosed that Penguin was to pay Shah a whopping £100,000 for the biography, which is to be called Damaged Goods: The Inside Story of Sir Philip Green, The Collapse of BHS And The Death of The High Street. Green, who was knighted under Tony Blair for ‘services to the retail industry’, took out £580million in dividends before he sold BHS for £1 to former bankrupt Dominic Chappell in 2015.

one personal assistant, Samantha Watson, told me in 2016 she was frequently left fighting back tears after being bullied by Green.

‘I didn’t do anything wrong, but sometimes if I kept him hanging on the telephone for a millisecond, Philip made my life an absolute misery, swearing at me using the most disgusting language possible and calling me a c***,’ says Sam, who worked for Green’s close friend, the media magnate Richard Desmond.

‘He has no respect for ordinary people, only other billionaires. If I kept him waiting, he would start effing and blinding and calling me a “thick, fat, Geordie c***”.’

Shah declined to comment.