By Shawna Healey
Pressure has been put on the government for billionaire business tycoon Philip Green to be stripped of knighthood after alleged sexual, physical and racial abuse to staff.
Philip Green is a British billionaire and owner of the company Arcadia, which owns well known high-street shops such as Topshop/Topman, Evans, Miss Selfridge and Burton, amongst many more. Arcadia also previously owned British Homes Stores before it closed due to entering administration after failure of finding a buyer.
Phliip Green had “gagged” – or put an injunction on – The Telegraph, legally prohibiting the newspaper from releasing his name in an investigation into abuse.
Lord Peter Hain, former shadow cabinet minster, used the legal protection of the House of Lords to name Philip Green as the subject of the Telegraph’s ongoing investigation into allegations of a formerly unnamed business owner sexually and racially abusing staff, back in October 2018.
The Daily Telegraph reported that Green groped a female executive and then paid her more than £1m to stay quiet, as well as mocking a male employee’s dreadlocks and referring to him as “throwing spears in the jungle”.
Saturday's Daily Telegraph front page: 'The claims against Green' #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/imW2G0czk6
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) February 8, 2019
Lawyers representing Sir Philip told The Telegraph: “It is … denied that any of Sir Philip’s conduct towards employees amounted to any type of crime, or anything that would amount to gross misconduct, or a serious risk to health and safety.”
The Labour Party have renewed calls for Green to be stripped of his knighthood. Labour chairman Ian Lavery said: “If the allegations are true, then Philip Green should be stripped of his knighthood. The public rightly expect high standards from public figures and they’re not getting it. The honours system is clearly flawed and the prime minister should take steps to remove honours from people who bring their office into disrepute.”
Confidentiality agreements typically serve three key functions:
“The honour committee should also take urgent action to restore the integrity of the honours system of which Philip Green’s knighthood currently makes a mockery.”
Former people to have their knighthood revokes by the government’s Honours Forfeiture Committee include convicted paedophile Rolf Harris and banker Fred Goodwin, who played a sizeable role in the Royal Bank of Scotland’s (RBS) near-collapse in 2008.
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