Green offering no concrete plan to help BHS pensioners, says MP Field
RETAILER Sir Philip Green was today accused of making no proper plans to deal with the £571 million BHS pension deficit, as MPs were set to debate stripping him of his knighthood.
Commons work and pensions committee chairman Frank Field said: “The flavour of this would change if he put concrete proposals which ensured the pensioners were better off than they are now, heading for the Pension Protection Fund. That would help him.
“Whether, given the views now in the country and those that may be expressed on Thursday in the Commons, it is possible to save his knighthood is clearly another matter.” Sir Philip has apologised to workers for the “hardship and sadness” caused by the BHS collapse.
In an interview with ITV News, the ex-BHS owner said fixing the failed retailer’s pension deficit was his No 1 priority.
He also hit back at a parliamentary inquiry criticising his role in the chain’s collapse, calling an MPs’ report on it “bizarre” and “unsupportable”.
The report held him responsible for leaving BHS with the huge pension deficit, taking about £400 million in dividends and selling the firm to serial bankrupt Dominic Chappell for £1. A review by his lawyers, Lord Pannick QC and Michael Todd QC, read: “These dividends were lawful and paid at a time the BHS pension schemes were in surplus. BHS was not sold until 10 years later. The law does not prevent a company from paying dividends because of a risk that the company might become insolvent many years later.
“The main causes of the pension deficit were the increasing longevity of pensioners and the global financial crisis in 2008.”
Sir Philip claimed he “did everything possible” to save BHS and said his family had endured a “horrible” time too.
The pensions regulator said it was “yet to receive a comprehensive and credible written proposal” from Sir Philip Green and his advisers.