Green goes public while gagging orders silence accusers
SIR PHILIP GREEN was last night accused of “a second abuse” of his alleged victims by speaking about accusations of sexual harassment and racism against him while gagging orders prevented them from doing the same.
The businessman at the centre of Britain’s Metoo scandal was also condemned for using the word “banter” to describe his interactions with staff amid reports he paid seven-figure sums to hush up complaints against him.
It was alleged he gave employees “lingering hugs”, asked if they were “naughty girls” and whether they needed their “bottoms slapped”.
Sir Philip gave an interview to a Sunday newspaper hours after the legal firm representing him, Schillings, declined an invitation by lawyers from The Daily Telegraph for him to drop an injunction stopping this newspaper telling his alleged victims’ stories.
The injunction and the use of nondisclosure agreements to silence employees were attacked last night by MPS, lawyers and women who had come forward with allegations of abuse.
Paola Diana, a Metoo campaigner who has spoken about her experiences of domestic violence, said: “This is a kind of a second abuse.” She said it was “wrong that the injunction is still in force”, adding: “He can say whatever he wants, and the public can’t hear the other side of the story.”
Sir Philip spoke out after Lord Hain, the former Labour Cabinet minister, used parliamentary privilege to identify him last week. Kate Maltby, whose accusations of inappropriate behaviour against Damian Green saw him sacked as first secretary of state last December, said Sir Philip’s alleged victims would be “now undergoing the additional trauma of hearing Green when they
themselves are gagged from speaking”. Although she disagreed with Lord Hain circumventing the injunction, she nevertheless added: “If Philip Green were really interested in everyone being given a fair hearing, he’d release these women from their NDAS.”
Baroness Altmann, the former pensions minister who last week accused Sir Philip of having “bullied and intimidated” her following the collapse of BHS, said: “It’s wrong that there is an imbalance between the power and freedom of one side to speak out if it is denied to the other. The use of NDAS in this manner needs to be reconsidered. It is not what they were designed for.”
Maria Miller, who chairs the women and equalities select committee, John Mann, a member of the Treasury select committee, and Mark Stephens, head of media law and regulatory at Howard Kennedy, agreed. Ms Miller, a former Tory Cabinet minister, said: “I can’t see how this injunction can remain.”
Mr Stephens, lawyer for Zelda Perkins, who broke an NDA to blow the whistle on Harvey Weinstein, said: “It’s clearly time for the injunctions to be lifted, given this has now become a public debate Sir Philip has entered into.”
In The Mail on Sunday, Sir Philip claimed to have only ever engaged in “banter” with staff and denied any unlawful sexual or racist behaviour.
His use of the word prompted comparisons to Donald Trump after a recording emerged in 2016 of him boasting of grabbing women “by the p---y”, later calling it “locker room banter”.
Attacking Sir Philip’s use of the word, and referring to reports that he paid seven figure sums to silence the allegations, Ms Diana said: “This is the way men like him defend themselves. If it was only banter, he would have never agreed to spend hundreds of thousands to pay these [alleged] victims.”
Mr Mann called for Sir Philip to explain himself before a parliamentary select committee. “Parliament should be able to test that out with him so we can see exactly what the banter was and he can explain in detail to be clear about what he means.”
Sir Philip was forced to deny fresh racism allegations at the weekend after claims that he called Filipino crew on his superyacht “f------ lazy flippers” and sacked those who complained the term
‘It’s a horror story. Somebody can say whatever they like and people just follow you, chasing and harassing you’
was discriminatory. He also condemned Lord Hain. He has already said he will report the peer for abuse of parliamentary privilege.
Referring to the “worst week of my life”, Sir Philip said: “It’s a horror story. Somebody can say whatever they like and people just follow you around, chasing you and harassing you.”
Ms Diana said: “Of course, he’s playing the victim role now.”
Theresa May last week vowed to end the use of “unethical” NDAS. She said the Government would bring forward a consultation on measures to make it “absolutely explicit” when contracts cannot be enforced, where alleged victims make complaints of sexual assault of a criminal nature.
A petition to change the law on NDAS, to allow victims of sexual harassment to speak out, has more than 100,000 signatures on Change.org.