Stand-off as Sir Shifty defies MPs over BHS grilling
Green: I’ll snub probe unless chairman quits
SIR Philip Green was last night locked in a stand-off with MPs after refusing to face questions over the collapse of BHS.
The billionaire tycoon, who sold BHS last year for just £1, threatened to boycott a parliamentary hearing into the demise of the 88-year-old high street chain.
He indicated he will only turn up for questioning on Wednesday if Labour MP Frank Field resigns as head of the inquiry.
Sir Philip, 64, accused Mr Field of ‘leaping to conclusions’ and ‘appearing to encourage the public vilification of witnesses’.
He claimed the MP has used his position as chairman of the Commons Work and Pensions Committee ‘to do your very best to destroy my reputation’.
The row broke out amid growing calls for Sir Philip to be stripped of his knighthood. Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said the honour should be taken away if Sir Philip – nicknamed Sir Shifty by critics – refuses to give evidence to MPs.
And Business Minister George Freeman said he would endorse taking it away if Sir Philip were found to have committed a ‘fraud or misconduct or wilful misleading of people or abuse of office’.
In a letter to Mr Field, Sir Philip said: ‘I am not prepared to participate in a process which has not even the pretence of fairness and objectivity and which has as its primary objective the destruction of my reputation. I therefore require you to resign immediately from this inquiry.’
Mr Field’s committee – along with the Business Committee – is investigating the sale of BHS to three-times bankrupt playboy Dominic Chappell and its subsequent collapse with the loss of up to 11,000 jobs. BHS went under with a £571million black hole in its pension fund, which threatens the retirement incomes of thousands.
But Mr Field estimates the cost of fully covering the pension promises for the fund’s members has now increased to £600million – and said Sir Philip should stump up the full amount to plug the hole.
He said: ‘If any proposal amounts to anything less than that, the committee will just laugh at him. Sir Philip needs to convince us that he’s come up with the very best deal for those pensioners.’
This prompted the furious response from Sir Philip, who in his letter to Mr Field said the comments showed ‘your bias against me and lack of any interest in a fair process’.
But Mr Field dismissed the threat by the Topshop tycoon. He said: ‘We appreciate that Sir Philip is trying to set up a deal for the pension fund, but £600 million is the size of the deficit. We very much look forward to hearing his side of the story on Wednesday.’
A spokesman for Sir Philip said he was waiting for a formal reply to his letter from Mr Field before deciding whether to attend on Wednesday.
On Saturday the Daily Mail reported that Sir Philip is facing new questions over the role of his wife Tina. Official accounts reveal that Wilton Equity Ltd, an offshore firm controlled by Lady Green, made £21.8million profit when it sold BHS’s headquarters in London last year to her husband’s Arcadia Group, in which she is a major shareholder.
Lady Green was among the beneficiaries of £400million in dividends paid by BHS since 2000 – even though she had no official role in the company.
If someone refuses to attend a committee hearing, MPs can issue a summons. In theory, the Commons can hold in contempt and jail anyone who refuses to attend a committee hearing. But the antiquated power is unlikely ever to be used.
The Guardian said MPs could hold a Commons vote on whether he is a ‘fit and proper’ person to be running a business, although this punishment would be largely symbolic.
Last night Sports Direct confirmed that its boss, Mike Ashley, has written to administrators expressing interest in taking over the BHS stores.
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