Not playing ball

Sports Direct boss and Newcastle FC owner Mike Ashley slams MPs

MPs will decide on Tuesday how to respond to Mike Ashley, owner of Sports Direct, after the billionaire launched an unprecedented attack over attempts to get him to appear in front of a select committee.

The Business, Innovation and Skills Committee wants Mr Ashley to answer questions over poor working conditions for staff at his business. Earlier this week it published a letter from chairman Iain Wright threatening to find him in contempt of Parliament unless he agreed a date. But instead of saying whether he would attend the committee, MrAshley responded: “I was disgusted to learn that you have adopted a stance that is deliberately antagonistic.”

He added: “I believe you are abusing parliamentary procedure in an attempt to create a media circus in Westminster, which is not in the best interests of any of the people who work at Sports Direct.”

The committee declined to comment ahead of a meeting next Tuesday, but some members are said to be furious at his behaviour. One told The

Independent: “Who does Mike Ashley think he is? No one is bigger than Parliament.”

It is understood that clerks from the committee had been attempting to contact MrAshley for the past few months to set a date for an appearance, before the committee’s letter was published.

But a source close to Mr Ashley said: “Mike is trying everything he can to avoid an appearance. He hates public speaking not on his terms and he will dig in, spending as much as it costs, to try and not appear.”