Sir Philip Green says MPs were 'biased and unfair' in BHS collapse probe

'Sad and sorry': Sir Philip Green apologised to those lose jobs due to the collapse of BHS
Nigel Howard
Clare Hutchison26 July 2016
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Billionaire Topshop owner Sir Philip Green has branded a report by MPs into the collapse of BHS "biased and unfair" and demanded an apology over an alleged "defamatory" statement.

Green, who was dubbed the "unacceptable face of capitalism" in the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee's report, admitted he had made a "very bad choice" in selling BHS to former bankrupt Dominic Chappell and his little known consortium Retail Acquisitions but was critical of the report's authors.

"I believe that the report is the predetermined and inaccurate output of a biased and unfair process," he said.

Green sold 88-year-old high street chain BHS to Retail Acquisitions in 2015 for £1. BHS went into administration in April this year and an attempt to rescue it failed two months later, leaving 11,000 jobs at risk and a pension fund black hole of £571 million.

Green said on Tuesday the deal with Retail Acquisitions had been made "one hundred per cent in good faith" and that he felt "badly let down" by Chappell.

"We provided Retail Acquisitions and Mr Chappell with the appropriate finance (c.£200m of cash and assets) to take the business forward."

He reiterated a pledge made before the Committee in Westminster that he was working on "a solution for BHS pension".

"I am sad and sorry for all the BHS people caught up in this horrid story, but I do not believe that this story is being in any way fairly portrayed," he added.

In a separate letter sent by his lawyers at Schillings, Green accused Committee chair Frank Field MP of making "highly defamatory and completely false statements" during a BBC radio interview.

"In that interview you alleged that our client had stolen money, specifically from the BHS and Arcadia pension funds," the letter said. "This statement is highly defamatory and completely false. Our client has never stolen any money from BHS, [Topshop parent company] Arcadia or the pension funds and you know that."

Schillings demanded an "immediate and fulsome apology" on behalf of Green and asked for a response within 24 hours.

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