Sir Philip Green latest: MPs call for Topshop mogul to be stripped of knighthood

Calls grew for Sir Philip Green to be stripped of his knighthood today as at least one new alleged victim of bullying and sexual harassment came forward.

Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott became the most senior figure to demand the withdrawal of the honour.

She told the Standard: “Getting a knighthood from the Queen is supposed to be an honour but he seems to have behaved, both in the case of the BHS pensioners and now with the use of NDAs [non-disclosure agreements] to silence accusers, in quite a disreputable way. I think he should lose his knighthood.”

Sir Philip “categorically and wholly” denied being guilty of any “unlawful sexual or racist behaviour”.

His statement came after former Cabinet minister Lord Hain used parliamentary privilege to identify the Arcadia chairman as the individual behind a legal injunction stopping The Daily Telegraph publishing “confidential information” from five employees.

Sir Philip Green was named as the businessman behind a privacy injunction preventing the media publishing allegations by former employees
AFP/Getty Images

Labour MP Frank Field said a woman had subsequently contacted him to say she had been sexually harassed and bullied by Sir Philip. He said she had seen “grotesque bullying at work” and wanted to give evidence to the Commons.

He said: "The charge sheet against the knighthood is growing.

"Parliament and the country have made their views clear on this matter. Ultimately it's a decision for the Honours Forfeiture Committee."

MPs called for the honours forfeiture committee to intervene. “He deserves no knighthood,” said Labour MP Neil Coyle.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable said the Topshop mogul only narrowly escaped losing his honour following the BHS scandal two years ago.

Sir Vince said Sir Philip "narrowly and luckily escaped losing his knighthood over the pensions scandal".

And he added: "If these allegations are correct, he should certainly be stripped of his knighthood."

Lord Hain's intervention came after Court of Appeal judges barred the Telegraph from publishing "confidential information" from five employees about a figure the newspaper described as a "leading businessman".

The newspaper said it had been investigating claims about a wealthy businessman for eight months but could not name him because of an injunction against him.

Today Labour peer Lord Hain said he had no regrets: “Parliamentary privilege is something to be used very sparingly and very responsibly. But it is a vital part of parliamentary scrutiny and our liberties. People will make their own minds up whether I did right or wrong. I believe I acted in the public interest.”

Lord Evans, chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, cautiously backed his right to use parliamentary privilege. He told Radio 4’s Today programme: “I can understand why Lord Hain has done that ... Generally speaking the courts take decisions for good reason so I would be cautious at challenging them on that, particularly when we haven’t seen the full details.

Sir Vince Cable joined calls by MPs for Sir Philip to lose his knighthood (Photo by Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images)
Getty Images

“But equally there’s a balance of public goods here, and the ability to raise issues in Parliament without fear of being brought into the court is an important safeguard in our system.”

Sir Philip Green - In pictures

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This is the second time calls have been made for Sir Philip to lose his knighthood. The first was two years ago during the BHS scandal, when shortfalls in the pension scheme were revealed after he had sold the business for £1.

Under Cabinet Office rules, anyone with an honour who does something to bring the honours system into disrepute can have it taken away. In 2012, banker Fred Goodwin was stripped of a knighthood following the near-collapse of Royal Bank of Scotland. Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu was stripped of his honorary knight grand cross the day before his execution in 1989.

Sir Philip with Cara Delevigne
Getty Images

Sir Philip responded in a statement, saying: "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.

"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."

The principle of parliamentary privilege means that MPs and peers cannot be sued for libel for comments made in the Houses of Parliament, and offers protection to media outlets reporting those comments.

Prime Minister Theresa May's spokesman declined to comment on Lord Hain's statement and said that the exercise of parliamentary privilege was "a matter for individual members."

Conservative deputy chairman James Cleverly said Lord Hain's action had shown "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".

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