Former BHS boss Green could still lose knighthood, says MP
SIR PHILIP Green has been warned he could still be stripped of his knighthood, a year after the collapse of BHS.
Labour MP Frank Field said Sir Philip had not done enough to keep his title amid lingering concerns over the £363m settlement struck between the retail tycoon and the Pensions Regulator.
Mr Field said: “Sir Philip Green remains on the hook. When Parliament comes back from the election 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.”
The MP for Birkenhead added: “He has not done enough to hold on to his knighthood.
“It’s rather good that Mrs 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 in the new Parliament.”
His comments come almost a year to the day since the department store chain fell into administration, impacting 11,000 jobs and around 19,000 pension holders.
Mr Field, who chairs the Work and Pensions Committee, said a new Government bill was now needed to shore up the law surrounding pensions in order to shield assets.
“We must have a proper pensions bill in the new Parliament to protect these assets,” he added.
Sir Philip agreed to pay £363m to settle the BHS pension scheme in February – less than the £571m deficit that the retail giant was left with when it went bust in April 2016.
The billionaire boss of Arcadia made a voluntary personal cash payment of £343m towards improved benefits for pension scheme members, and made an extra £20m available towards implementation costs.
It came after the Topshop owner was grilled by MPs over the sale of the chain, which he owned for 15 years before selling it for £1 to former bankrupt Dominic Chappell in 2015.
Mr Chappell, who may still face a criminal investigation, reiterated his apology to the BHS staff and said he had “nothing to hide”.
He hit out at Sir Philip for paying back “only a fraction” of what he took out.
Sir Philip declined to comment.