Tycoon ‘paid out millions tohis alleged victims’
Philip Green hush-money claim
Former
employees of Topshop boss Sir Philip Green were given seven-figure sums to settle allegations of sexual harassment or bullying, it was claimed yesterday.
The Arcadia chairman’s alleged behaviour included giving women in meetings “lingering hugs”, asking women in meetings if they were “naughty girls” and if they “needed their bottoms slapped” and telling women they were overweight and should go on a diet.
He is also alleged to have flown into rages, abusing both male and female staff in front of colleagues.
Former cabinet minister Lord Hain named Sir Philip on Thursday as being at the centre of the allegations.
After days of speculation, the Labour peer used parliamentary privilege to reveal Sir Philip was the mystery businessman who had taken out an injunction protecting his identity.
Sir Philip has denied any allegations of “unlawful sexual or racist behaviour”.
Meanwhile, BBC Apprentice star Baroness Karren Brady has also been drawn into the scandal, facing calls to explain what she knew about payouts to silence employees.
The Conservative peer, who is a champion of women’s rights in the workplace, is the chairman of Taveta, the holding company of Sir Philip’s Arcadia empire.
It has been claimed by sources she has known about substantial payouts to employees making sexual and racial harassment claims for several months.
Labour MP Jess Phillips said: “I do not know whether Baroness Brady has been kept completely in the dark about this, but she needs to say what she did or what she didn’t know.”
It is understood Baroness Brady will make a statement tomorrow after her role as chairman of Taveta was highlighted.
Baroness Ros Altmann, who was pensions minister from 2015 to 2016, told how she was “bullied and intimidated” over the course of several weeks by Sir Philip when the pension scheme at BHS – which he formerly owned – was being probed.
She said: “I counted up that I received 22 texts between January 27 and February 2 that year, some sent as early as 5am. Other messages were sent late at night – it was horrid.
“He was seemingly suggesting I could pull strings for him. There was no way I was going to do it and I asked some of my officials to protect me but he even tried to get around them – it was like he could not understand the meaning of the word ‘No’.”
She added: “I believed he behaved like that because I was a woman.”
Sir Philip, meanwhile, said he would complain to the Lords authorities that Lord Hain failed to disclose a relationship with the Telegraph’s lawyers.
Lord Hainis linked to law firm Gordon Dadds.