I’ve no regrets about naming Green. And I’ll not apologise Lord Hain stands by his decision
Former cabinet minister Lord Hain has stood by his decision to name Sir Philip Green as the businessman at the centre of #MeToo allegations of sexual harassment and racial abuse.
The Labour peer named the Arcadia chairman using parliamentary privilege, and Green has said he will issue a formal complaint to the Lords authorities.
But Hain said: “I stand resolutelyy by what I’ve said and neithereither retract nor apologise for standing up for human rights.”
He added: “I always comply fully with myy House of Lords obligations as I did on thatat occasion. His complaintnt is a malevolent diversion.”n.”
Hain named Green in the Lords as being the individual behind a legalegal injunction preventingg the Daily Telegraph fromrom publishing “conf identialntial information” from five employees.l
Green said he would complain to the Lords authorities that Lord Hain failed to disclose he had a financial relationship with the Telegraph’s lawyers Gordon Dadds.
He said: “I have been advised that his actions are likely to have been a breach of the House of Lords Code of Conduct.
“As many people have said Lord Hain’s blatant disregard of a judgment made by three senior judges is outrageous. I will be lodging formaformal complaints with the rerelevant authorities in theth House of Lords.” GGreen repeated thathat “to the extent thathat it is suggested ththat I have been guiguilty of unlawful sexual or racisracist behaviour, I categorically till anddw holly deny these allegations”. The BBC’s business editor Simon Jack reported that the businesswoman and star of the BBC’s The Apprentice, Baroness Brady, had told him she would make a statement tomorrow after the Telegraph highlighted her role as chairman of Taveta, the holding company of Arcadia. Hain has said he felt he had a “duty” to name Green, after legal experts strongly criticised his decision to exercise his right to do so while the case was still going through the courts.
He insisted he took his decision acting in a “personal capacity”, adding: “I categorically state that I was completely unaware Gordon Dadds were advising the Telegraph regarding this case.”
Ex-attorney general Dominic Grieve QC said Hain’s behaviour had been “clearly arrogant” and he had abused parliamentary privilege in deciding he knew better than the courts.
The identification of Green led to fresh calls for the Honours Forfeiture Committee to consider withdrawing his knighthood – previously chal lenged in the furore over shortfalls in the BHS pension scheme.
The Telegraph has written to Sir Philip’s lawyers threatening to quickly return to court for the trial unless they drop the injunction.