GREEN DENIAL
Sir Philip Green ‘categorically and wholly’ DENIES claims of ‘sexual and racist behaviour’ in £500k gagging scandal
Have you worked with Philip Green? Email [email protected] or call newsdesk on 0207 782 4512
SIR Philip Green says he "categorically" denies allegations of “unlawful sexual or racist behaviour” after he was revealed to be at the centre of a controversial gagging order today.
The Topshop tycoon, 66, was named under parliamentary privilege as the businessman who took out an injunction to prevent the media reporting claims he bullied and sexually harassed employees.
10
Green has now released a statement denying the allegations while appearing to admit that some former staff members have received settlements following formal complaints.
He said: "I am not commenting on anything that has happened in court or was said in Parliament today.
"To the extent that it is suggested that I have been guilty of unlawful sexual or racist behaviour, I categorically and wholly deny these allegations.
Have you worked with Philip Green? Email [email protected] or call newsdesk on 0207 782 4512
"Arcadia and I take accusations and grievances from employees very seriously and in the event that one is raised, it is thoroughly investigated.
"Arcadia employs more than 20,000 people and in common with many large businesses sometimes receives formal complaints from employees.
"In some cases these are settled with the agreement of all parties and their legal advisers.
“These settlements are confidential so I cannot comment further on them."
10
Ex-minister Peter Hain outed the Topshop tycoon in the House of Lords.
He said: "I feel it's my duty under parliamentary privilege to name Philip Green as the individual in question, given that the media have been subject to an injunction preventing publication of the full details of a story which is clearly in the public interest."
Lord Hain, who served in the Cabinet under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, said he was naming Sir Philip as the "businessman using non-disclosure agreements and substantial payments to conceal the truth about serious and repeated sexual harassment and bullying which is compulsively continuing".
The naming has led to renewed calls for the retail mogul to be stripped of his knighthood.
The tycoon went to court to stop the media reporting claims that he sexually harassed and racially abused people working for him.
10
On Tuesday three Appeal Court judges, Sir Terence Etherton, Lord Justice Underhill and Lord Justice Henderson, ruled in the businessman’s favour.
The judges ruled the signing of the agreements overrode the public interest in exposing the businessman’s “discreditable” behaviour.
The case has been described as “a British #MeToo moment” — a reference to the flood of allegations in America following the revelation of film mogul Harvey Weinstein’s serial sexual harassment.
This morning we told how a well-known socialite believes she was a victim of the gagging-row tycoon, and accused him of groping her.
In an anonymous first-person account, she said: “He loved that I was scared.”
10
10
10
News of the gagging order triggered an angry reaction among politicians of all parties.
Jess Phillips, who chairs the Women’s Parliamentary Labour Party, said: “It cannot be right that the rich can buy silence.”
Theresa May has vowed to introduce new laws banning the use of non-disclosure agreements to cover up serious wrongdoing.
Today Tory deputy chairman James Cleverly said: "As Lord Hain names Sir Philip Green in the House of Lords today, people must now realise that injunctions and super-injunctions are nothing more than a good way to part with large sums of money and a bad way to keep things secret."
Labour's Rupa Huq added: "Hurrah for Peter Hain.
"There is no justification for this abuse of power where the rich and powerful can buy their way out of trouble."
Asked if Sir Philip should be stripped of his knighthood, Lib Dem leader Vince Cable told The Sun: “I find it very difficult to see how he could credibly hold on to an honour in these circumstances.
“I think Parliament’s proving its worth. The use of Parliament in this way is healthy and it shows democracy at wok.”
10
10
Earlier today Lord Sugar and Duncan Bannatyne took to Twitter to deny they were at the centre of the scandal.
Apprentice star Lord Sugar tweeted: "To all those t****r trolls associating me with the Daily Telegraph injunction by a celeb. I have no idea who that person is, but I certainly know it is NOT me."
And Mr Bannatyne simply wrote: "Nope. Not me".
Sir Philip - whose daughter has a child with her boyfriend Jeremy Meeks, a model and criminal known as the "hot felon" - has a controversial past as boss of firms including Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and BHS.
He has been accused of avoiding British tax by putting his assets in the name of wife Tina, who lives in Monaco.
Life and times of divisive tycoon
PHILIP Green was branded the “unacceptable face of capitalism” when BHS went into administration after he sold for just £1 in 2015.
The struggling British firm was left with a huge £571million hole in its pension fund before it closed in 2016.
MPs slammed the businessman’s behaviour and a damning report found he had extracted sums from the firm which left it on “life support”.
He became known for his lavish lifestyle and his personal fortune is said to around £4billion.
Green owns a super-yacht called Lionheart and is famous for throwing parties for a host of A-list celebrities including Jennifer Lopez and Beyonce.
But he also came under fire for the amount of tax his wife, Tina, was paying. In 2005, he paid Tina - the owner of Arcadia – a £1.2billion dividend.
However, she did not pay any tax in Britain because she was a resident of Monaco.
In 2010, activists flocked to BHS stores and Topshop outlets in London to protest after he was selected by PM David Cameron to oversee a government efficiency review.
He was instructed to lead a review of government spending but the GMB slammed Cameron’s decision and argued that his wife lives in a tax haven.
Green reportedly has a very short fuse and allegedly grabbed former M&S boss Sir Stuart Rose when his second takeover bid of the company failed in 2004.
Sir Stuart described the “fairly physical” incident and added: “I think tension had got quite high during the bid and Philip got upset about something.”
10
10
MOST READ IN POLITICS
The tycoon sold troubled department store chain BHS for £1 in 2015 - but when the firm collapsed a year later, he drew criticism for failing to put more money into the company pension scheme.
In 2016, the House of Commons voted to ask for his knighthood to be revoked due to his history of scandal.
Sir Philip is known for his high-roller lifestyle - he owns a number of massive superyachts and is friends with A-listers such as Kate Moss.
What is parliamentary privilege?
PARLIAMENTARY privilege is a legal right that MPs and Peers get which allows them to speak freely in the Houses of Parliament.
It means they have the right to say what they like, and they will be legally immune from being prosecuted over it.
It came into British law as part of the 1689 Bill of Rights, which followed the English Civil War, to allow politicians to speak freely about the monarch.
It says in the Bill: "that the freedom of speech and debates or proceedings in Parliament ought not to be impeached or questioned in any court or place out of Parliament."
"Proceedings" has been taken to mean anything said in the Houses of Parliament, but also other documents, preparations and questions which are a part of Westminster's working.
Media organisations don't have the absolute right to report what an MP says in Parliament - but in reality once an MP says something it's difficult to stop that becoming widely known.
Married footballer Ryan Giggs was named in the Commons in 2011 by MP John Hemming as having had an alleged affair - after an injunction blocked The Sun and other newspapers from revealing it.
But thousands had already named him on Twitter.
Parliamentary privilege was also used to try and stop the details of MPs expenses from being disclosed, but this was unsuccessful.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online politics team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours
Topics