Brady quits Green’s firm just weeks after saying: I have a duty to stay here
TORY peer Karren Brady quit her role in Sir Philip Green’s retail empire yesterday, only weeks after insisting that she had a ‘duty’ to stay.
The Apprentice star resigned as non- executive chairman of Taveta, the holding company behind the Topshop tycoon’s business, but has remained silent over claims that he bullied and sexually harassed employees.
Baroness Brady, 49, has faced accusations of hypocrisy after she attacked other men for sexual misconduct and promoted herself as a role model for professional women.
She resigned from Taveta’s board along with a non-executive director, businesswoman Sharon Brown.
Their departure leaves only two women as directors at the firm, which owns the Arcadia Group of businesses including Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and
‘She still needs to answer questions’
Miss Selfridge. Baroness Brady had been a director since 2010 and chairman since 2017, but had faced growing criticism over her position after it emerged that several former executives had received ‘substantial’ payments to sign non- disclosure agreements, or NDAs.
Her silence over claims of sexual harassment, bullying and racial abuse formed a stark contrast to her self-promotion as a mentor for women.
The West Ham chief executive, who was appointed as the Government’s small business adviser in 2013, has described herself as ‘an outspoken defender of women’s rights in the workplace’.
MPs said she should still face questions about what she knew about the payouts to those signing NDAs, some of which reportedly topped £1million.
Sir Philip has been summoned to appear before the Commons women and equalities select committee next month over the use of NDAs.
Its chairman, Tory MP Maria Miller, said she had also asked Baroness Brady to appear, adding she could offer ‘an important insight’ into the treatment of employees in the Arcadia group.
Sir Philip, 66, has repeatedly denied any unlawful sexual or racist behaviour and said he had never intentionally gone beyond ‘banter’ with his staff.
But former employees have said he was ‘very physical’ with women and would ask female executives in meetings if they were ‘naughty girls’ and if they ‘needed their bottoms slapped’.
This month he dropped legal action against the Daily Telegraph, which reported that he had paid an employee more than £1million after she accused him of kissing and groping her.
The allegations have been reported to Scotland Yard by the Labour MP Peter Kyle.
Sir Philip is under investigation by US police after a pilates instructor claimed he groped her while she was working at a luxury resort in Arizona.
Labour MP Jess Phillips said Baroness Brady ‘will still have to answer to what went on under her watch’. Businessman and former Dragons’ Den panellist Duncan Bannatyne tweeted: ‘She still needs to answer questions on what she knew about the non-disclosure agreements that were signed by employees.’
Baroness Brady had previously said she felt ‘a real sense of duty’ to staff at the retail empire, including her daughter Sophia Peschisolido, who has worked as a social media content assistant at Topshop since 2016.
Earlier this month her agent Gordon Poole issued a statement saying: ‘She feels a real sense of duty to the 20,000 people who work there, one of which is her daughter, to remain in post.
‘Walking away is the easy thing to do – staying in the role and ensuring the company is robust going forward is much harder.’
Taveta released a brief statement confirming the resignations of Baroness Brady and Miss Brown, thanking them ‘for their contribution’ and wishing them well.