Neighbour of Sir Philip Green to testify she saw groping in gym

A US neighbour of Sir Philip Green who accused him of “octopus-like” behaviour will testify against the tycoon at his trial, court documents show.

Kimberley Khoury is among witnesses prepared to give evidence against the 67-year-old after he was charged with four counts of assault earlier this year.

It comes after Katie Surridge, a 38-year-old pilates instructor, told The Daily Telegraph that Sir Philip groped her on two occasions at the luxury Canyon Ranch health club in Tucson, Arizona, in 2016 and 2018.

When tracked down by this newspaper, Ms Khoury – who lives near the nine-bedroom property bought by Sir Philip in 2010 – confirmed she saw him “fondling” Mrs Surridge’s bottom.

Assault charges against the Topshop owner were announced in May and the next hearing is scheduled for Oct 23.

Documents filed at Pima County Justice Court, Arizona, show that Ms Khoury, 55, has now been lined up by the county attorney to testify against Sir Philip at the forthcoming trial.

The decision by US authorities to prosecute Sir Philip has raised questions as to why Scotland Yard has so far declined to investigate claims made by his alleged victims in Britain.

Ms Khoury complained to senior management at the ranch after allegedly witnessing Sir Philip groping Mrs Surridge in the gym. “I could see his hand touching her buttocks,” she said.

“He didn’t just do it once, it wasn’t just like a pat on the butt – which would be bad enough – he would pat her butt and then feel her butt and then he’d move his hand away, and Katie would try to move a little, and then he did it again, and then he did it again. It was bizarre really,” she added.

According to a police transcript she later told police that Sir Philip’s “octopus-like hand” repeatedly touched Mrs Surridge’s buttocks against her will.

Each of the four counts of assault

‘He didn’t just do it once, it wasn’t like a pat on the butt. She would try to move away and then he’d do it again’

carries a maximum sentence of 30 days in jail.

It comes after three women in Britain signed non-disclosure agreements (NDAS) and were paid huge sums of money to keep silent after they each made complaints against Sir Philip.

Their allegations could only be reported after Sir Philip dropped a long-running injunction against this newspaper.

The apparent disparity for alleged victims in the UK and the US has led to calls for the Government to crack down on the misuse of NDAS.