NAMED AND SHAMED
Philip Green is unmasked in Lords over Press gagging But he furiously denies sex and racism allegations MPs say strip him of knighthood if claims are true
MPs last night called for Sir Philip Green to be stripped of his knighthood after he was unmasked as the businessman at the centre of sex pest claims.
The Topshop tycoon reportedly spent almost £500,000 on lawyers trying to stop a newspaper detailing the alleged abuse of ex-staff.
Some complainants were silenced with controversial gagging orders.
But after a 24-hour guessing game over his identity, the billionaire was named in the Lords yesterday when former Labour minister Peter Hain used Parliamentary privilege.
The peer said it was ‘clearly in the public interest’ to reveal details of the case, defying a temporary injunction by High Court judges.
Last night, MPs called for the Parliamentary honours committee to reconsider whether the retail mogul should keep his knighthood if the allegations are proven to be correct. If he is stripped of the honour, he will join a rogues’ gallery including traitor Anthony Blunt and ex-royal Bank of Scotland boss Fred Goodwin. Yesterday Sir Philip, 66, denied any allegations of unlawful
sexual or racist behaviour ‘categorically and wholly’. In a day of dramatic developments: Lord Hain said it was his ‘duty’ to name the tycoon;
Campaigners claimed it could signal the end of the use of court injunctions to silence the Press;
Critics questioned if it was an abuse of Parliamentary privilege to flout a court ruling by senior judges;
City experts warned the sex harassment claims could have a significant impact on Sir Philip’s Arcadia business empire, which includes Topshop, Miss Selfridge and Dorothy Perkins;
Female customers threatened to boycott his shops, and the social media hashtag Pink Not Green trended on Twitter;
Lord Hain’s intervention ended speculation on social media that had prompted Lord Sugar and Dragons’ Den star Duncan Bannatyne to deny it was them.
Last night, Sir Philip issued a lengthy statement, saying: ‘I am not commenting on anything that has happened in court or was said in Parliament.
‘To the extent that it is suggested that I have been guilty of unlawful sexual or racist behaviour, I categorically and wholly deny these allegations. Arcadia and I take accusations and grievances from employ--
‘I categorically deny these allegations’
ees very seriously and in the event that one is raised, it is thoroughly investigated. Arcadia employs more than 20,000 people and in common with many large businesses sometimes receives formal complaints from employees.
‘In some cases these are settled with the agreement of all parties and their legal advisers. These settlements are confidential so I cannot comment further on them.’
Sir Philip first rose to prominence as boss of discount retailer Amber Day in 1988, but he quit abruptly in 1992 following a plunge in the share price and disastrous profits. In 2000, he bought BHS for £ 200million. Two years later he helped his wife Tina acquire 92 per cent of Arcadia Group.
When he was just 12, his father – a successful property developer – died of a heart attack, leaving his mother Alma to run the family businesses with a young Sir Philip spending his weekends working alongside her.
In his Lords statement, Lord Hain said he had been in contact with ‘someone intimately involved’ in the case – dubbed the ‘ British MeToo scandal’.
The guessing game had begun earlier in the week after it emerged that a businessman had been granted a High Court injunction to stop the Daily Telegraph publishing claims he had sexually harassed and racially abused five former employees. He was said to have agreed ‘ substantial payments’ to the five, who signed controversial non- disclosure agreements (NDAs) binding them to silence. Three dropped employment tribunal proceedings as part of the settlements.
Lord Hain said: ‘I feel it’s my duty under Parliamentary privilege to name Philip Green as the individual in question, given that the media have been subject to an injunction preventing publication of the full details of this story, which is clearly in the public interest.’
The former Northern Ireland Secretary pointedly referred to the high street retailer as ‘ Philip Green’, omitting the ‘ Sir’. The tycoon was knighted by the Tony Blair government in 2006 and there have been repeated calls for him to be stripped of the gong following his role in the collapse of BHS and its pension scheme.
Independent MP Frank Field, who as chairman of the work and pensions committee held Sir Philip to account over BHS, last night led calls for him to lose his knighthood. He said: ‘The charge sheet against the knighthood is growing.’
Labour MP John Mann added: ‘The allegations against him will reignite calls for him to be stripped of his title.’
More than 100 MPs voted to strip Sir Philip of his knighthood in 2016, but he then agreed to pay £363million into the BHS pension fund.
Last night campaigners urged women to boycott his shops. Scarlett Curtis, the 23-year-old daughter of Love Actually director Richard Curtis, tweeted: ‘ Philip Green, money can’t save you. The feminists are coming and they’re wearing pink. #pinknotgreen.’
Labour MP Jess Phillips told the Financial Times: ‘His power and his money bought him cover only for moments and I’m glad that riches are not a get out of jail free card.’
THE naming of Sir Philip Green as the multi-millionaire who took out an injunction to suppress claims that he sexually and racially abused staff comes as a welcome reminder that riches and power are not enough to crush the public’s right to know.
Invoking Parliamentary privilege to circumvent the law is a tactic that should be used sparingly. As Labour deputy leader Tom Watson proved during the VIP paedophile hoax, it can go horribly wrong.
But in this case it was emphatically in the public interest. Of course, this doesn’t mean Sir Philip is guilty. But it does mean these murky allegations will be brought out of the shadows and into the light.