A woman groped, another put in a headlock, and a black man told he was ‘still throwing spears in the jungle’
Injunction lifted to reveal £1m payouts to silence accusers Businessman threatens to sue former staff if they speak out Cabinet minister pledges reform to NDA ‘gagging orders’
SIR PHILIP GREEN paid a female executive more than £1million after she accused the retail tycoon of groping her as part of a series of allegations that can finally be disclosed today following a six-month legal battle.
Sir Philip is also alleged to have racially abused a senior black employee, telling him that his “problem” was that he was still “throwing spears in the jungle”.
The black member of staff received around £1million, while two other female employees were paid hundreds of thousands of pounds each after complaining of Sir Philip’s “inappropriate” behaviour that included “grabbing” one woman by the face and putting another in a “headlock”. Five complainants each signed a gagging clause – known as a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) – in return for the pay-offs.
The Daily Telegraph can make public for the first time details of the allegations after the High Court action brought by the billionaire against this newspaper was formally abandoned.
Sir Philip, owner of such high street fashion brands as Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Burton, was left with a legal bill of about £3million after being ordered to pay his and most of The
Telegraph’s costs.
Sir Philip indicated he would give up the action at the end of last month, just a few days before he was due to have given evidence in the witness box.
But yesterday, despite dropping his legal claim against The Telegraph, he threatened to sue former staff with NDAS if they spoke out against him.
Penny Mordaunt, the Women’s Minister, said it was “clearly unacceptable” that NDAS were being used to hide allegations of “disgusting and illegal” behaviour and the Government would take the “necessary steps” to stop it.
Sir Philip’s lawyers had secured an interim injunction last summer, arguing that the NDAS should also prevent
The Telegraph from reporting the existence of the payments and the allegations which led to them.
Yesterday, at a hearing in the High Court, Mr Justice Warby formally lifted the injunction.
The senior female executive who was paid more than £1 million complained that Sir Philip had called her a “naughty girl” and groped her. The woman alleged that Sir Philip, who is 66 and married with two children, kissed her face, slapped her bottom and made comments about her weight, that left her and others present feeling “uncomfortable”.
The black male executive suffered alleged racial harassment that included being stared at by Sir Philip in a meeting. Sir Philip is then said to have barked: “What the f--- have you got on your head?”, which according to some people present, appeared to be di- rected at the man’s dreadlocks. He also told the man, in front of colleagues: “The problem with you [name removed] is that everyone else is firing guns and you’re still throwing spears in the jungle.”
On another occasion, Sir Philip is accused of asking a Chinese businessman visiting the company’s headquarters three years ago: “What do you think Mr Ching Chong Charlie?”
A second woman received hundreds of thousands of pounds after complaining that the billionaire had sexually harassed her, including touching her face and body. On one occasion, she allegedly warned him “not to come any closer”. Sources said that the woman complained that Sir Philip had allegedly “squeezed” her cheeks and put his arm around her back.
A third woman was also given a payoff worth hundreds of thousands of pounds after alleging that Sir Philip had held her in a “headlock” in front of colleagues and sexually harassed her by touching her waist and body.
A fifth employee – a male executive – had complained about aggressive and intimidating behaviour after Sir Philip allegedly smashed the executive’s mobile phone after reprimanding him for not keeping him sufficiently informed.
In the aftermath of the judgment, Sir Philip issued a statement warning former staff with NDAS that he would take them to court if they tried to go public. In an astonishing threat made with the backing of the board of Arcadia Group, Sir Philip said: “The Telegraph and its owners must now decide whether to do the decent thing and respect the NDAS. If not they will expose their sources to potential further legal actions and significant losses. Their fate is now in
Sir Philip Green is alleged to have groped a senior female executive and called her a “naughty girl” before paying her more than £1million to stay silent about the incident.
In front of other employees, the Arcadia boss is alleged to have on a number of occasions kissed the woman’s face, slapped her bottom and made comments about her weight, leaving her and others present feeling “uncomfortable”.
The woman eventually complained to her HR department, but the process led to claims of a “cover-up”.
Despite his behaviour being witnessed by countless staff members, Sir Philip obtained an injunction against this newspaper to prevent details of the allegations being published.
Since Sir Philip was named in the House of Lords as the businessman who had taken out an injunction to prevent details of sexual harassment claims being made public, a number of other women have come forward to allege that they suffered similar treatment at the hands of the billionaire, or witnessed it.
In court documents, his lawyers admitted that he acted in a “tactile” way and has “prodded and poked individuals”.
Then, while his victims and The
Telegraph remained gagged, he told another newspaper: “There has obviously from time to time been some banter, but as far as I’m concerned that’s never been offensive.”
But The Telegraph can now reveal exactly how offensive his behaviour was towards female employees.
The senior female executive made serious allegations against him – including “inappropriate” touching of her body – to the human resources department in 2017 and an internal investigation was launched.
Employees were interviewed and witness statements taken.
The complaint was wellknown about within the firm.
At one point, the businessman is alleged to have kissed her face in front of other employees and grabbed her by the waist.
Since the injunction against this newspaper was made public, further witnesses to his behaviour have come forward. One source alleged that there had been an incident where Sir Philip walked behind her and “grabbed her bum” and the woman was “distressed”.
Other employees also witnessed him smacking her bottom and those of other women at the firm as well as grabbing their knees and thighs and making comments about their weight. He was also said to have walked up behind staff members and massaged their shoulders.
An internal investigation into the woman’s allegations concluded that Sir Philip probably made jokes about her weight, that he would have sworn and shouted at her and that he probably prodded, poked and slapped her.
But all these things were dismissed as light-hearted horseplay,
The Telegraph understands, with claims of sexual harassment shrugged off as it was said Sir Philip treated lots of his staff, both male and female, in this way.
Following the internal investigation, papers were lodged at an employment tribunal for sex discrimination and Sir Philip was personally named.
People familiar with the process said that the billionaire believed he would “win”, but by mid-may, both sides had agreed a financial settlement of more than a £1million.
The Telegraph has chosen not to name the woman, and when she was contacted about the settlement, she declined to comment.
Other women have since come forward to allege similar experiences while working for him.
One said she had been “groped” by him on two separate occasions at work events and at one he “kissed my neck”. The woman said that she was only speaking on the condition of anonymity and asked for the allegations she was making not to be reported in detail because
“I don’t want to be destroyed by him”.
A former employee told The Telegraph that Sir Philip had “slapped her a---”, but she did not make a complaint as “everyone in HR was aware” of his behaviour.
“It was never a secret. It’s been happening for years,” she said. Another woman said she did complain to HR after he “grabbed my bottom”, but no action was taken. One former employee who allegedly witnessed similar incidents said: “It was about power. He humiliated staff.” Sir Philip has said he “categorically denies any unlawful… sexual behaviour”.
But the claims will pull into focus how non-disclosure agreements are being used to conceal serious allegations, amid concerns that such secrecy means that sexist cultures and abuses of power within companies are being brushed under the carpet.
Following the launch of the “Metoo” movement, gagging clauses have received a great deal of scrutiny, because despite most legal experts believing that they are unenforceable if they are used to cover up wrongdoing, it appears they are sometimes used by companies and individuals to conceal embarrassing and inappropriate behaviour.
From calling MPS who criticised him a bunch of w-----s to questioning whether it was correct for “girls parading in the ring at the boxing” to be banned, the businessman’s behaviour has seemed to be increasingly at odds with a world that has become ever more focused on the treatment of women in the workplace.
This change in attitudes was behind the outrage at the Presidents Club, where the hostesses were forced to sign NDAS before the dinner, which Sir Philip attended with his son.
Afterwards, when asked for views on the outcry and on the “Metoo” movement, Sir Philip is said to have pondered: “Where is it all going to end?”
More than a year later, he may have a partial answer now that an injunction he sought to prevent details of sexual and racial harassment lies in tatters.
‘There has obviously from time to time been some banter, but as far as I’m concerned that’s never been offensive’