Green faces Met police inquiry over allegations
MP asks Yard chief to investigate claims of sexual assault and abuse against tycoon
SIR PHILIP GREEN is facing a police investigation after being reported over allegations of sexual assault, racial abuse and assault.
Peter Kyle MP, who sits on the business, energy and industrial strategy committee, has written to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner asking for officers to investigate a series of allegations made by former members of staff against the billionaire Topshop owner.
The letter, sent yesterday, detailed allegations published in The Daily Telegraph, including that one woman was groped and had her bottom smacked, another was said to have been put in a headlock, and that a male employee was allegedly racially abused.
The details emerged for the first time after Sir Philip, who paid sums of more than a million pounds to employees to keep them quiet, dropped his injunction battle against this newspaper.
In the letter to Cressida Dick, the Met Commissioner, Mr Kyle wrote that “it is clear that some of his behaviour warrants criminal investigation”, and in his view, if proven, the allegations would amount to sexual assault, assault and racial abuse.
The call for police to investigate was echoed by anti-racism and women’s rights campaigners, and MPS, who said that a clear message needed to be sent that nobody was above the law.
Liz Truss, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, vowed to “get changes” to non-disclosure agreements (NDAS), and said that Sir Philip’s use of them to silence his alleged victims was “disgraceful” and that he should not be allowed to “flout the law”.
Maria Miller, the chairman of the women and equalities committee, last night told The Telegraph that she wanted to call Sir Philip to give evidence to the committee’s current inquiry into the use of NDAS in discrimination cases.
She said that she would recommend her committee call him “so that we can understand how Arcadia’s internal complaints system handles allegations of discrimination, specifically allegations that include criminal behaviour”, and how Arcadia’s board and lawyers were involved in the process.
The revelation that the police have been contacted will put further pressure on Baroness Brady, a self-appointed women’s champion, who this weekend refused to resign from her role at the helm of Sir Philip’s business empire.
Mr Kyle urged Ms Dick “in the strongest possible terms to investigate these allegations with a view to criminal prosecution” because of the weight of the allegations and the possibility that there are independent witnesses.
He wrote: “Sir Philip Green is accused of monstrous acts which must have inflicted unimaginable fear into his subordinates, particularly women
‘Sir Philip Green is accused of monstrous acts which must have inflicted unimaginable fear’
and people belonging to minority groups, who seem to have attracted the most vicious of his alleged attacks.”
He said that the “strongest possible message” needed to be sent that law enforcement agencies would investigate allegations of such behaviour.
He added: “When it comes to upholding the law there should be no place to hide, including yachts in the Mediterranean and erroneous use of non-disclosure agreements in British courts.”
The letter was sent after it was revealed the Sir Philip was accused of groping a female executive, smacking her bottom, kissing her face, grabbing her by the waist and calling her a “naughty girl”.
The woman’s complaint to HR led
to accusations of a cover-up at Arcadia as it is understood the testimony of two male executives who corroborated her account was left out of the final report.
Two other women who later signed NDAS complained of similar treatment at the hands of Sir Philip.
One of them alleged that he held her in a headlock.
A black male executive was said to have been told by the tycoon that his “problem” was that he was “still throwing spears in the jungle”. The Topshop owner also made comments about his dreadlocks and assumed that he would smoke cannabis, which he believed was related to his race.
The allegations were all witnessed by others within the company, it was said, and it was likely that detectives would want to speak to them if a full investigation was launched by the police.
Sir Philip has always denied any unlawful sexual or racist behaviour.
Mr Kyle said that after hearing the detailed allegations he felt compelled to contact police to protect others in the workplace and those who felt they could not speak because of NDAS.
“If somebody has committed potential criminal acts in a British workplace they need to be investigated, whether they are a retail magnate or a shop floor worker,” he told The Telegraph.
“We need to send a message loud and clear that nobody is above the law.”
He added: “On a personal note I have seen what a bully he is and he is precisely the sort of person that MPS are elected to stand up to. I felt that I had to challenge a man whose bullying could be criminal.”
Mr Kyle said that the Met needed to look at it as if Sir Philip was guilty of criminal offences then that could be a way to prevent him entering a workplace and continuing what appeared to be a pattern of behaviour.
Tabitha Morton, a spokesman for the Women’s Equality Party, echoed his comments, and said that employees had a duty to report suspected criminal activity. “The number and nature of the allegations against Philip Green should be sufficient grounds for the police to investigate.
“Sexual harassment law is complex and fragmented but crucially it includes protection in criminal as well as employment law. This case has shown just how important it is to have both options for redress available to victims,”
she said. Harriet Wistrich, a human-rights lawyer and founder of the Centre for Women’s Justice, said that NDAS should not be used to cover up “criminal conduct”, and allegations should be looked at by police if there was evidence of repeated behaviour.
“It is obvious that criminal conduct should be investigated and prosecuted. That said, it is very difficult to get justice and therefore it is understandable if victims seek other remedies,” she said. “If you have repeated allegations then it should be incumbent on companies to take action.
“I think that perhaps if there is more than one allegation, more than two allegations, then I think that should automatically go to the police to look at, once you have similar factual evidence arising.”